Harry Potter and the Story of Independence
by Android 101
Summary: Harry stands up to the Dursleys at a young age and learns about magic earlier than anyone expected. A much darker and untrusting Harry enters Hogwarts, and in a world where enemies surround him, who can he trust? A young red-haired girl may hold the key to opening him up and saving him from the darkness inside him. I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters J.K.Rowling does.
1. Chapter 1: This is my life

**Author's note: This is my first story on and will be a Harry/Ginny story as they're my favourite Harry Potter pairing. This will be a Good but Dark!Independent!Powerful!Harry story as well, with some Dumbledore and select Weasley bashing. So, let's begin the story...**

Chapter 1: This is my life, and it's under my control

Harry James Potter woke up to a nice sunny day and when he saw the date on his clock, he smirked. He had finally turned 11-years-old today. In just over a month, he would be going to start his first year of magical training at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He came downstairs and entered the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. He watched his 'relatives', the Dursleys, look up at him with frightened expressions on their faces as they were also eating their breakfast that Harry's aunt, Petunia, made. This had been the routine for years ever since Harry finally stood up for himself and made his 'relatives' look like the ignorant fools they were.

When Harry was old enough to walk, the Dursleys forced Harry to do all of the chores as they hated the fact that he was a wizard, but at the time, he didn't know this as they never told him anything. They used to beat him if he made one minor mistake or took just a second too long to do a chore, which only served to increase his bottled anger. When Harry turned 7-years-old, he let his anger out just before his uncle, Vernon, was able to beat him for getting better marks in an exam at primary school then his cousin, Dudley, causing some sort of repulsive shockwave to radiate off of him, sending Vernon into the wall behind him, knocking the large man out cold, and frightening Petunia and Dudley to stay away from Harry for the rest of the day.

From then on, Harry learned to harness his new powers and used them whenever the Dursleys attempted to force him to do the chores they should be doing, or attempted to beat him. As a result, he beat them himself, and never offered to help with chores, as he didn't think they deserved help, which caused them to now live in fear of him. Harry also learned martial arts and weapon mastery a few years ago to further punish Dudley when he carried on bullying at their primary school. Needless to say, after his training, Harry ended Dudley and his gang's reign of terror at their primary school, causing many pupils to see him as a school hero.

It was also around this time when Harry finally got Petunia to tell him about the real cause of his parents death as he didn't believe the lies his 'relatives' fed him as they kept on changing too much to be true. Petunia told him everything, including her hatred of his mother and her sister, Lily, when they found out that Lily was a witch and she wasn't. She told him how Lily met his father, James Potter, at Hogwarts and that they had got married and had him later on. She then told him how they were actually murdered by a man who called himself Lord Voldemort, which led Harry to become an orphan and to be left on the Dursleys' doorstep by the Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Harry then realised where he got his powers from; it was genetic as his parents were also magical, and there was an entire community of magic users. He also swore that if this 'Lord' Voldemort ever showed his head again, he would rue the day he ever decided to mess with Harry Potter as he didn't give second chances.

When Harry received his Hogwarts invitation letter, he was able to read it without interruption. He then made plans to go to Diagon Alley on his birthday. So, in the present, Harry says goodbye to the Dursleys before heading to London via the Knight Bus, which he learned about from Mrs. Figg who's the squib from the house next door to the Dursleys. He asked the driver to take him to the Leaky Cauldron as he needed to get to Diagon Alley, but he never gave his true name. He didn't trust people easily, in personal matters especially. When he finally got to Diagon Alley from the back of the Leaky Cauldron, he observed the wizards and witches walking up and down the cobblestone street, going into shops, looking in shop windows, and also just talking to their friends and families. As he observed this, he smirked and felt a small sense of home in this world of magic. He then went to Gringotts to get some money and took his time looking around the different shops, making sure to get all of his equipment he needed before moving onto the next shop.

When Harry entered Eeylop's Owl Emporium and the Magical Menagerie, he bought two animals, regardless of what the letter implied about only having one. He bought a beautiful snowy owl, whom he called Hedwig, and a black cat, whom he called Shade (cliché, but Shade seemed to like the name, so Harry stuck with it). They both actually bound to him as his familiars, bonds that hadn't been seen for many years, so he just had to have them, and no-one would be able to say anything about it. He was never really one to follow rules. Oh how he would love to put more pompous people in their places like he did the Dursleys once he entered Hogwarts with Shade and Hedwig and got away with keeping them due to their familiar bonds with him.

Harry's final stop was Ollivander's Wand Shop, where he would obtain his first wand. He entered the shop and rang the bell just before seeing who he assumed to be Mr. Ollivander zoom down to the desk on a set of bookshelf ladders.

"I wondered when I'd be seeing you Mr. Potter. Quite sooner than expected, I might add. You seem a lot stronger than what a certain friend of mine has led me to believe, but never mind that. It seems like only yesterday when your parents were in here to buy their first wands themselves. However, you seem most unusual, Mr. Potter. I don't think that one single wand will do for you. No, no, no! Hmm...I wonder..." Mr. Ollivander said before zooming off back into his storage area to find Harry his wands.

Soon, Mr. Ollivander came back with two wand boxes and handed them over to Harry. As soon as Harry took the wands, both lit up with a green light being ignited from each tip that seemed to surround him before they dimmed down again. They had chosen him.

"Curious...Very curious..." Mr. Ollivander said in a mix of awe and fear in his voice.

"I'm sorry, sir, but what's so curious?" Harry asked, looking at the old wand maker with a confused expression.

"I remember every wand I ever sell, Mr. Potter. The wand in your left hand is 11 inches, made from holly wood, and has a phoenix feather core. It just so happens that the phoenix, whose tail feather resides in your wand, gave another feather, but just one other. It's curious that this wand should be destined for you, when it's brother...gave you that scar on your forehead," Mr. Ollivander explained.

"Voldemort's wand...is my wand's brother...? Very intriguing...Anyway, what about my second wand?" Harry asked.

"Yes, as to the second wand that's in your right hand, it's curious as not many people have ever received a second wand from me unless they've broken their first wand. To have two wands destined for you is rare indeed. What's even rarer is your wand type. Again, it's 11 inches, but it's made from hazel wood, and has a dual-core consisting of a dark phoenix feather and a light phoenix feather. How I was able to put the two together is a mystery, but it was like I was being driven by an otherworldly force. The two cores and the hazel wood mean that this wand will serve you well as it will allow you to become very powerful in magic. However, you must be cautious when it comes to your emotions. Focus and the clearing of your mind is vital for your magic to reach its full potential when you cast a spell, otherwise you might end up hurting others severely. Another positive, or negative depending on your opinion of it, is that if you're particularly angry or depressed, and someone tries to steal and use your wand, it will attack the thief instead. Hazel wood wands are notoriously loyal wands, I will tell you this. I expect great things from you, Mr. Potter," Mr. Ollivander explained.

"Well, thank you for explaining this to me. I appreciate it, sir," Harry said politely.

"You're welcome, Mr. Potter. Not many people bother to ask about their wands nowadays. Now then, since I didn't expect you to have a second wand, I'll give you it half price...So, that will be 12 galleons for them both please," Mr. Ollivander said.

Harry handed over the money and bid the old wand maker goodbye before exiting the shop and Diagon Alley as he had now completed his shopping list. He caught the Knight Bus back to Privet Drive and entered his 'relatives' house to see an almost empty living space. It seems like they had gone out, which suited Harry just fine as it meant that he could have some proper alone time with his new familiars and so that he could think about the adventure that laid ahead of him.

One thing's for sure though, the wizarding world was in for a shock when Harry finally made his debut at Hogwarts as he won't be anything they expect him to be. He'll play by his own rules, and no-one will be able to control him or tell him what to do. Those who try will not get any second chances from this unconventional Harry James Potter...


	2. Chapter 2: Ginny

**Author's note: In this chapter, Harry meets Ginny for the first time. For some of you wondering why he seems to trust her, he's very perceptive and can see that she means him no harm, only good, so he feels that he can trust her for now. Anyway, on with the story...**

Chapter 2: Ginny

It was September 1st, and Harry had packed his trunk and got Hedwig and Shade ready to go to Hogwarts. The Dursleys drove him to King's Cross Station and once he got out of the car with his trunk and familiars, they drove away, leaving him alone to find his way to Platform 9 and 3/4. As he walked around the station, he made his way towards where he knew Platforms 9 and 10 were, but once he got there, he tried to figure out where Platform 9 and 3/4 was, and how to get onto it. Just then, a family of red-haired people came walking past with trunks like his own. He hid away behind one of the pillars to spy on them to see where they were off to. For some reason, he thought that they were suspicious, even if they seemed to be magical like him.

"This place is packed with muggles again...Come on, Platform 9 and 3/4 this way!" the mother said loudly, making Harry wonder why she would feel the need to talk so loud. Her children were right next to her. However, his thoughts were then voiced by the young girl holding the woman's hand.

"Mum, why are you shouting? What if the muggles hear and start to watch us? We could get into trouble for violating the confidentiality of the magical world towards muggles," the young girl chastised.

"Shush Ginny, dear. Everything will be just fine. We won't get into trouble. Muggles don't pay attention to us even if were right in front of them!" the woman said loudly again, emphasising the word 'muggles'.

As Harry continued to watch the family, he saw the woman direct the boys to go through the pillar wall between Platform 9 and 10, so that answered his previous questions. What made him suspicious of the family though, was that the woman and the youngest boy, who looked around Harry's age, kept seeming to look around as if they were waiting for someone important. At first, Harry wondered whether it could be the father of the family, but the young girl, Ginny, once again voiced his thoughts and answered them through getting her mother to mention how her father was at work and that this 'Professor' Dumbledore told them to wait for someone very important. So, the Headmaster wanted them to wait for someone? Why did Harry have a bad feeling that it was _him_ who they were waiting for. In fact, it seems like they were all in on this plan, whatever it was, except for Ginny, who obviously had no idea what was going on.

Harry took his time then to analyse Ginny as she intrigued him due to her good perception of her mother's obvious change in behaviour and that she seemed to be in the dark about this plan that the rest of her family seemed to be involved in. Ginny had long, flowing red hair that reminded him of his mother's hair, but Ginny's was a shade lighter than his mother's, which made Ginny's hair look like she had a halo of fire around her head. She also had a splattering of freckles on her cheeks and nose, which added to the innocent, childish face she had. She had rich, chocolate-brown eyes that held both innocence and feistiness in their depth, a trait that he found quite impressive in one so young. She was also quite small for her age, but she seemed to radiate an aura that said that she wasn't one to be messed with just because she was small, which made him chuckle a little when she flared up when her brother's were teasing her. He estimated that she looked to be about a year younger than him, so maybe he'd be able to find out more about her and her family's odd behaviour next year at Hogwarts when she arrived there.

Harry could also tell that the woman wasn't going to leave until she saw him, so he stepped out and headed towards the pillar wall and the woman and Ginny. Luck seemed to be on his side as the woman walked towards the entrance of the station, leaving Ginny on her own. He decided that he would still talk to her as she was the only one in her family not seeming to be in on a plan concerning him that he didn't know of.

"Hello. I hope you don't think of me as rude, but I didn't know how to get onto Platform 9 and 3/4, so I was watching you from behind the pillar behind us. You're name's Ginny, right?" Harry said politely.

"It's fine, but you could've just come and asked if you were struggling. And you're right, I am Ginny. My full name's Ginevra Molly Weasley, but I prefer to be called Ginny. I guess you overheard my mother too. She's never normally this loud. It's like she's trying to catch someone's attention. Anyway, what's your name?" Ginny explained, looking up thoughtfully as she tried to figure out her mother's change in behaviour.

"Yes, I was thinking the same thing, and I think it was me she was looking for. My name's Harry Potter, and judging by what I've heard, most magical people have this preconception that I'm some sort of celebrity," Harry answered, letting a little frustration out as he remembered how he was greeted in the Leaky Cauldron.

"You're Harry Potter!" Ginny exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Yes, you don't need to be so surprised," Harry chuckled before moving his fringe over to show Ginny his scar, which made her grin widely and blush bright red.

"Wow, I never would've thought that I would meet you until next year. I'll be going to Hogwarts next year...I wish I could go now..." Ginny pouted sadly, making Harry feel sad for her, but also he thought that her pouting made her look cute.

'Cute? Where did that come from? I've only just met the girl! Pull yourself together, Harry! Don't think that way, it won't help you out here!' Harry mentally chastised himself.

"Hey, think of it from an optimistic point of view. Instead of thinking 'I've still got to wait a year to go', think 'I've only got a year to wait, then I can go'. Trust me, it'll pass by so much quicker. That's how I was able to survive living with my 'relatives', then taught them a lesson..." Harry said kindly, darkening his expression when he remembered the times before he took control of his life, as well as after.

"Hey, you're right! Hold on...What did you mean by 'surviving your relatives'?" Ginny asked curiously, wondering why Harry seemed to get angry over his relatives.

"Let's just say that they never treated me like family, and if I hadn't have stood up for myself and learned what I have learned, I wouldn't be here...I'll tell you what, you seem to be a nice girl, so I'll write to you over this year and keep you up to date on the happenings at Hogwarts. I'll also tell you a bit more about my life at my 'relatives'. It'd be nice to have a friend for once..." Harry explained, thinking about how this small conversation has led to something like a possible friendship.

"You really want to be friends with me? I'd like to be your friend too! But my mother might go through your letters if she found out. She'd do anything to find out more about you," Ginny said with wonder-filled eyes at Harry's request. She also blushed slightly at her last statement as she believed that she wouldn't be much different, however, she would be doing it to befriend him, not just to know more about the celebrity that was Harry Potter. Unlike the rest of her family, Ginny somehow knew that there would be more to Harry Potter than meets the eye, so she made it her mission to try and befriend him. It seemed like her mission was going to be a success already too!

"Well, that's where my training comes in. I bought some non-customary books from Flourish and Blotts to increase my magical knowledge and found a spell that I can put on something like a parchment to disguise, or hide, the words on it so that it can only be read by whomever the writer keys into it. I will make sure that only I and you can read it and we can keep in touch that way until I teach you to do the spell, then you can send your own parchments so that I won't have to keep placing enlargement charms on mine. I'll send my owl, Hedwig, to deliver my letters, so just look for a clever snowy owl," Harry explained with a wink. His last sentence was rewarded with a hoot of thanks from Hedwig, and his wink was rewarded with another blush from Ginny.

Harry then saw Ginny's mother walking up to them briskly. She had obviously seen him and had recognised him somehow if the wide, motherly smile on her face was anything to go by. He also noticed that underneath that motherly smile was a sly grin that made him uncomfortable as it only deepened his suspicions of what the Weasley family seemed to want with him, minus Ginny who genuinely wanted to get to know him.

"Well, I'll stay in touch. I better get onto the Platform and onto the train. Don't take this the wrong way, but your mother's expression makes me uncomfortable as there's more to it than just a simple smile at seeing me. Bye Ginny," Harry said before turning and running through the pillar wall and onto Platform 9 and 3/4 at last.


	3. Chapter 3: Hogwarts Bound

**Author's notes: Harry meets Ron and Hermione in this chapter, but things go a lot differently that it did in canon. So, let's begin...**

Chapter 3: Hogwarts Bound

Harry soon got onto the Hogwarts Express and found an empty compartment. He then put his trunk and Hedwig's cage down before releasing Shade out of his cage so that he could investigate the compartment before curling up in Harry's lap. A few minutes later, Harry was interrupted from his customary meditating when the youngest Weasley boy opened the compartment door.

"Umm, excuse me? Do you mind if I sit in here? Everywhere else is full..." the boy asked.

"Not at all. Go ahead," Harry answered, wanting to find out more about his suspicions about the Weasley family.

"Thanks. I'm Ron, by the way, Ron Weasley. What's your name?" Ron said politely, a little too politely for Harry's liking as the pleasantries actually sounded false, but to anyone but him, he guessed that they wouldn't hear or see the subtle things in a person's voice.

"I'm Harry. You're Ginny's brother, aren't you? I saw your family and spoke to her about getting onto the Platform," Harry answered. He didn't want to give his full name yet as he wanted to see how Ron would treat him if Ron didn't know his true identity as he had his suspicions that it would be much different if Ron knew who he was.

"Y-yeah, I'm Ginny's brother. Why didn't you just ask one of us before we left? We could've helped you get on and given you better advice than her. She isn't going to Hogwarts until next year, fortunately. She can be really annoying at home sometimes. She's always on about how she's going to be Harry Potter's friend and how she'll make him happy as she worries that something bad had happened to him so she would need to be there for him in the future as she thinks that there's more to him than just being Harry Potter. I think she just has a massive crush on him. But I'm going to be his best friend, not her! She'll just annoy him, I know it! Then she'll shut up about him all the time!" Ron ranted. Ron's rants began to fuel Harry's anger as the red-haired boy reminded him too much of his cousin, Dudley. It was obvious that he probably teased and bullied Ginny at home in regards to Harry. Harry couldn't believe that someone could be so insensitive and insulting towards their own family members, especially behind their backs. This only fuelled Harry's suspicions and dislike for the Weasley family, minus Ginny. He liked her as she was the only genuine one in the family, so seeing her own brother insulting her didn't make him happy.

"I talked to her, and she seemed to genuinely care about the boy's wellbeing when I asked. She also was able to hold a conversation more intelligently than you and your ranting about her. She's your sister. Family shouldn't insult family. My 'relatives' were like that, so I taught them a lesson they won't ever forget once I learned magic. I suggest you either shut up and leave your jealousy and ignorance at home, or you leave this compartment. I don't befriend or trust people who have the audacity to insult people, especially behind their backs. That's a sign of cowardice, and I hate cowards!" Harry said, glaring angrily at Ron.

Ron visibly shook in fear at Harry's intense glare, then snarled and picked up his trunk before heading for the door. Before he left, he turned to Harry with a smug expression.

"You'll come crawling back to be my friend when Harry Potter becomes best friends with me, you'll see!" Ron exclaimed.

"You're funny. I hate to tell you this, but I've met him before, and he doesn't like cowards like you either. In fact, Ginny is more likely to be his friend than you ever will as she seems to actually see that he's a person, not just a celebrity!" Harry retorted, causing the red-haired boy to flush angrily before storming out of the compartment.

Just then, a young, bushy-haired brunette girl appeared, looking between Harry and the storming Ron, before focusing her attention on Harry.

"Umm, have you happened to have seen a toad? A boy named Neville is looking for one as he lost it somehow," the girl asked with a slightly bossy tone of voice as if she was in her rights to demand an answer from anyone.

"I haven't seen any other animals other than my owl and cat, no toads I'm afraid," Harry answered politely.

After Harry's answer, the girl nodded and turned to walk away. This constituted the very definition of rude in his mind and he thought that he should point it out to the pompous girl.

"It's rude to not introduce yourself after just coming in here, demanding answers, then going to walk off like your above others. People might think that you're bossy or pompous," Harry stated, causing the girl to turn around and go red in the face, sporting an expression that was a cross between shame and anger.

"And who are you to tell me what I should do?! You have no authority over me!" the girl said angrily, obviously deciding to go with that emotion instead of the shame that was more fitting.

"What, and you think that you have authority over me instead? Trust me, girl, no-one has authority over me. I live my own life, and no-one can tell me what to do, otherwise they find themselves in a lot of trouble...like my 'relatives' found themselves in when they thought that they were above me..." Harry said, pausing after the last sentence to let the message get through the girl's mind. When it did, he took pleasure in seeing her eyes widen in fear and the look of shame reappear.

"I-I'm s-sorry. I d-didn't m-mean to t-truly offend y-you. M-my name's H-Hermione Granger, what's yours?" Hermione stuttered.

"My name's Harry Potter-" Harry started, but was automatically cut off by Hermione's eyes widening in fascination, then they narrowed critically.

"You're not Harry Potter! You're not like what the books say!" Hermione exclaimed. It was obvious to Harry that she was a bookworm and had too been corrupted by the media, who truly had no idea about his life.

"I am!" Harry exclaimed, showing Hermione his scar and effectively shutting her up, "You should learn not to trust everything that books tell you. I've seen and read some of the book that claim to be my 'biographies' and I'll tell you something; they don't know the half of what my life has been like! All they know is that my parents were killed by a psychopath and I'm an orphan, they didn't bother with figuring out the rest! Remember that the next time you read something and believe every word you see! It's not necessarily going to be 100% accurate! I think you ought to go if that's all you're interested in; my unwanted status as the wizard celebrity!"

Hermione was stunned at Harry's closed off and angry attitude. The scar on his forehead was clear proof of his identity, and he was nothing like the tragic, glorious hero that he was portrayed as. Here was a normal, albeit troubled, boy, and he definitely didn't like what his title of the 'Boy-Who-Lived' truly meant. To him, it meant that he was an orphan, nothing more. With those thoughts in her head, Hermione got up and left, heading back to where her trunk was as she didn't want to face his wrath any longer.

After Hermione left, Harry slumped into his seat and calmed himself before his magic surged again. He hadn't been in the situation to get angry like with Ron and Hermione for years ever since he took control over his life and sorted the Dursleys out. Harry decided that sleep would be the best remedy for calming his temper. So, after Harry changed into his Hogwarts robes, just in case he slept for the remainder of the journey, he leaned his head back against the headrest on the wall and fell to sleep with Shade still curled up asleep on his lap, and Hedwig falling to sleep on her perch in her cage.


	4. Chapter 4: The Sorting Ceremony

**Author's notes: Well, it's time to find out where everyone will get sorted. This is my longest chapter so far, I believe, and this is due to what the content of the chapter is. To find out, well, let's begin, and you will...**

Chapter 4: The Sorting Ceremony

Harry was soon woken from his slumber when the Hogwarts Express blew its horn to say that it had stopped at Hogwarts Station. Harry picked Shade up and placed him in his cage before getting up off of the bench. Harry grabbed his trunk, Hedwig's cage, and Shade's cage and exited the train. After dropping off his trunk and familiars with the people who would take them up to the castle for the students, he made his way to a tall man who was calling for first years to follow him to the boats. He followed the man, who introduced himself as the gamekeeper; Rubeus Hagrid, with the rest of the first year students and got on one of the boats with two other students that he didn't know. As the boats were cast off, he got his first glimpse of Hogwarts castle. While everyone was staring at it with awe, he merely nodded his head in appreciation for its architecture, not showing much expressive emotions. It didn't take long for the boats to reach the entrance to the castle and Hagrid led them inside before giving them directions on where to go to reach the Great Hall before he walked off, probably to tend to his duties.

Harry followed the rest of the students as they made their way to the Great Hall. Just before they entered, however, they were stopped by an old woman.

"Welcome to Hogwarts! I am Professor McGonagall, and I am the Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration professor here at Hogwarts. Now, in a few moments, you will pass through these doors to be sorted into your houses and join your classmates. The houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Now, once you are sorted, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs and achievements will earn you house points, but if you break any rules, you will lose points. Whichever house has the most points by the end of the year will win the House Cup. The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily..." McGonagall said before going through the doors to the Great Hall, probably to receive permission from the Headmaster to let the first year students in.

Just then, Harry noticed a blond-haired boy with two chubby boys, who reminded him distinctly of Dudley, walked up to him with smirks on their faces. They seemed to radiate pompousness from the way they carried themselves, and Harry didn't like those sort of people. Those sort of people were bullies and thought that they had authority that they didn't deserve.

"So it's true then? What they were saying on the train? Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts..." the blond-haired boy said, causing the rest of the students to begin staring at Harry in awe as well as whisper to each other. The boy then continued with, "This is Crabbe and Goyle (gesturing to the chubby boys), and I'm Malfoy...Draco Malfoy..." Malfoy said. Harry chuckled slightly as his introduction reminded him of how James Bond always introduced himself.

"What?! Do you think my name's funny, do you?! " Malfoy demanded angrily.

"No, I was merely finding the way you introduced yourself funny. It was reminiscent of how James Bond introduces himself in the films," Harry stated, wondering why Malfoy seemed to get so riled up over a trivial matter like a simple chuckle.

"What's 'James Bond'? Are you trying to insult me?! Is he some kind of funny man?!" Malfoy demanded again, shocking Harry at his lack of knowledge.

"James Bond is the main character in a series of spy films. He's a good spy actually, and does his job very seriously. It's brilliant acting. Haven't you gone to a cinema to see it? My 'relatives' went as soon as they were released. They didn't take me, but I found ways to get there eventually," Harry explained.

"Why would I go to a filthy muggle cinema?! I'd be surrounded by them! You don't want to be making friends or talking to the wrong sort! Surely you of all people should understand that, right?! If not, then I can help you there..." Malfoy exclaimed, before holding out a hand for Harry to shake.

At Malfoy's rant, Harry grew increasingly more angry at the obviously prejudiced boy. While he didn't like the Dursleys, he knew that not all muggles would be like them, which is why he was happy to learn that his maternal grandparents were very nice people and treated Lily no different from when they found out that she was magical compared to before, yet they were muggles. It was then that he realised that he had heard the name Malfoy before. He had heard people talking about the father in the Leaky Cauldron. Mr. Lucius Malfoy was a supporter of Voldemort and claimed to have been under the Imperius curse (the controlling curse and one of the Unforgivable curses) while serving Voldemort, so he was cleared of all charges. Those people, as do others apparently, believed that Lucius had bribed the Minister of Magic into clearing him of all charges when he in fact was a willing servant. This only fuelled Harry's anger at the nerve of the son of a man who supported the murderer of his parents, trying to befriend him! How sick can someone be?!

"You're Lucius Malfoy's son, aren't you?" Harry asked, and at Malfoy's nod, he continued with, "I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself then thanks."

Malfoy and many other students who heard Harry's comment were stunned by his dismissal of Malfoy's friendship. He then leaned forward and whispered this into Malfoy's ear:

"I would never be friends with the son of a man who supported the murderer of my parents. You're sick, do you know that? I warn you...Do NOT cross me again, or I will personally give you the same punishment that I will give your father's master, if he ever returned, and any other supporters of him. Do I make myself clear?"

Malfoy merely snarled and stormed off. However, Harry grinned in satisfaction when he saw the hint of fear in Malfoy's face as he whispered his threat. Just then, McGonagall reappeared and led the first year students into the Great Hall before stopping them in front of a stool where a hat was placed. McGonagall then pulled out a roll of parchment before addressing the first years again.

"Now, when I call you name, you will come forth, sit on the stool, then I will place the Sorting Hat on you head, who will then sort you into your houses," McGonagall explained before the Sorting Hat began to sing about the different houses. After the song, she began to read off the list.

Harry didn't really pay much attention to who got sorted before him except for specific people. Hermione was somehow sorted into Gryffindor. He didn't understand that as she seemed to be the Ravenclaw type, judging by the Sorting Hat's song, being a bookworm and all that. Malfoy was quickly sorted into Slytherin. Again, he couldn't understand how as Malfoy didn't possess any of the cunning nor ambition to be in Slytherin judging by how he's seen Malfoy act. A boy named Neville Longbottom, the toad owner, was sorted into Gryffindor, albeit the obvious nervousness he expressed, and it seemed to be difficult for the Hat, judging by how long it took to sort the boy. Soon, he heard his name being called...

"Potter, Harry!" McGonagall announced, looking at him with a kind smile.

Harry merely sighed and walked forward. He scowled as the whispers and predictions began.

"He's so brave as he defeated You-Know-Who! He's got to be in Gryffindor!" one person exclaimed.

"I bet he's super smart! He'll be in Ravenclaw for sure!" another person predicted.

"He'll be really loyal I bet as he's such a good guy! He'll be a Hufflepuff!" stated another.

"He must have some talent and ambition to get to where he is now! He's got to be in Slytherin!" said another.

Harry ignored them all and carried on until he got to the stool. As he looked at the staff table, he noticed that Dumbledore leaned forward and seemed to be paying increasingly more attention to him. The Headmaster seemed to have a twinkle in his eyes, but Harry also noticed that there was darkness held in those eyes, darkness that made him feel that whatever he said or did would be the correct decision, no matter how bad the side effects on people would be. Harry made a mental note to keep a close, sceptical eye on Dumbledore, especially when he felt a mental probe in his mind when he caught the gaze of the old man. He was glad that he took every precaution to protect his mind, and therefore privacy, by buying and reading books on things like Occlumency and Legilimency from Flourish and Blotts as he reckoned that the Headmaster wasn't happy when he pushed the old man's mental probe back. He sat on the stool and let McGonagall place the Sorting Hat on his head.

_'Mr. Potter, it's a pleasure to finally meet you at last. Now then, let's see here...Difficult, very difficult...You have plenty of courage, I see, a sharp, intelligent mind, oh yes...and you have a thirst to prove yourself. Cunning and ambition seems to rule your mind...But where to put you?'_ the Sorting Hat mentally said, examining Harry's personality.

'What house has the Headmaster desired me to be in? He seems awfully interested in where I'm sorted, doesn't he?' Harry mentally asked, hoping to get some more information on the Headmaster.

_'Well, Albus seemed sure that you would be a good Gryffindor as that was his house. Albus has...changed somewhat since You-Know-Who first appeared on the scene, and he's become slightly arrogant in terms of believing that his decisions are always for the 'Greater Good'. I would be careful around him if I were you, Mr. Potter. I don't know what he's up to, but it involved getting you on his side...'_ the Hat mentally answered.

'Well, considering my own plan. To keep an eye on the Headmaster, I think that by luring him into a false sense of security would be the best way to start. So, I would like you to place me into Gryffindor, if you wouldn't mind?' Harry mentally said, smirking slightly.

_'Hmm, a Gryffindor with Slytherin traits? This is almost unheard of, but will be most interesting to see how everyone reacts. Very well, Mr. Potter, I will abide by your wishes...'_ the Hat mentally agreed, also with a smirk.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat announced aloud, causing the Gryffindor students to cheer loudly, McGonagall to smile widely, and Dumbledore to grin while he clapped. Harry also noticed the old man's grin also reached his eyes as he could see the Headmaster's eyes light up as his brain began to execute the next phase of his plan.

As Harry walked towards the Gryffindor table, he spotted Ron staring at him with wide eyes. Ron's eyes also reflected fear, especially when he subtly looked at Dumbledore. Harry noticed this and raised an eyebrow in suspicion of Ron's possible involvement in Dumbledore's plan. Harry also smirked when he saw Hermione's face as he sat down at the table. She was completely flabbergasted, as was the rest of the Gryffindor students as he obviously wasn't as emotional about being sorted as they thought he would, due to his complete dismissal of them as they tried to shake his hand, cheer for him, talk to him elatedly, or basically just try to befriend the 'Boy-Who-Lived'. After all of the first year students had been sorted, including Ron being sorted into Gryffindor (Harry assumed that his parentage probably was the only reason for his house placement as he saw that the elder Weasley boys were also in Gryffindor), and before Harry was about to tell everyone to shut up, Dumbledore stood up to address the students.

"Welcome first years to Hogwarts. I am the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Now before the feast begins, I have a few start of term notices I must announce. As usual, the Forbidden Forest is strictly forbidden to be entered by all students. Also, out caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you that the third floor corridor is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to die a painful death. Thank you...Now, let the feast...begin!" Dumbledore announced as the food magically appeared on the tables.

Harry started to eat with the rest of the students, but he almost lost his appetite when Ron came over to him and tried to talk to him with a mouth full of food.

"Hey, why didn't you say that you were Harry Potter on the train?" Ron asked, or at least that was the translation of what the food-filled gob was saying.

"Because I don't want people to treat me differently to others as I'm not the 'heroic celebrity' that I'm portrayed as in books," Harry answered, annoyed with Ron. He didn't want to take to the ignorant and insulting idiot, so he hoped that the boy had enough sense to hear the tone of his voice and leave.

"But you are different to us! We wouldn't have been able to defeat You-Know-Who, especially as a 1-year-old! You haven't been in the magical world long, have you? I can give you some advice and tips about what to do if you want, you know?" Ron exclaimed, completely ignoring Harry's annoyed tone.

"My mother and father died to protect me from a mass murderer! And his name is Voldemort, not 'You-Know Who' or 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'! Who the hell fears a name! He's meant to be dead, isn't he?! What's he going to do, come up from the grave and kill everyone who says his name?! In fact, 'Lord Voldemort' is probably also another name that he made for himself! I reckon his real name is something else entirely, but he just decided to change it to make himself sound important and scary! He's a psychopath, and there's nothing to be gained by being scared of a name! Plus, I wouldn't let you teach me anything if you handed me everything in the world! Who would want to be taught anything by a boy who cowardly insults his own sister behind her back?! Plus, before you knew who I was, you were angry that I actually could see your true self and defended Ginny instead of conforming to your views! So, here's some advice; leave me alone if you know what's good for you!" Harry growled, effectively silencing the now frightened red-haired boy who got up and walked over to his brothers who started whispering to him about something that Harry couldn't hear, but knew to be about him if their constant 'subtle-but-noticeable' looks towards him were anything to go by. He decided to search for answers later, but right now, he needed to recharge and get some energy as he was hungry from the long train journey to Hogwarts, so he went back to eating his food. Yes, everyone was definitely shocked by this entirely unconventional, and very different, Harry Potter.


	5. Chapter 5: Letters

**Author's note: Harry and Ginny exchange some letters in this chapter after he finds out something that could jeopardise their friendship and alliance already. This is now my longest chapter due to writing the letters. Anyway, let's continue the story...**

Chapter 5: Letters

The next day was the first day of lessons, and Harry was slightly concerned. Would the teachers be adequate, or would he have to resort to going to the school library to get the information that he needed? Well, he guessed that he'd just have to wait and see. Harry had fortunately got up earlier than all of the other boys, so after he got dressed, he went downstairs to sit by the fireplace and think in peace before everyone came down. Shade followed him after he opened Shade's cage and walked around the common room as if he was inspecting it. Hedwig also chose this time to tap the window to the left of Harry. He let her in and she landed on his shoulder before rubbing her head on his cheek affectionately in gratitude as the wind made it feel quite cold outside and she wanted to get warmer.

Once everyone was settled, Harry finally began to meditate. He wondered how Ginny was because considering that his suspicions off her family were being proven correct, he worried that her mother would've hounded her for any information regarding him. Harry also wondered why he even decided to talk to her and seem genuinely concerned about her. It wasn't like he ever cared for another person before her, so why would he start now? And with her of all people? What was so special about this young, red-haired girl? Harry didn't really understand emotions, so when he tried to come up with an answer, his mind came back with nothing, which didn't help his curiosity whatsoever. He decided that he'd just have to send her letters and talk to her probably again next year and, hopefully, he'd get an answer to his questions then. Speaking of which, she was probably waiting for a letter from him, so he called Shade over and the trio went upstairs to the boy's dormitories.

Harry entered to what could only be describe as a warzone. The other boys were running around everywhere, some going into the showers, some coming out and getting dressed, and some going to the sink to brush their teeth etc., but the problem was that no-one seemed to be patient, so there was pushing, shoving, falling, and fighting to get ready for the morning. Harry merely rolled his eyes at the insanity of the situation and made his way to his desk. If someone got in his way, he'd move them aside, and if he didn't, then Hedwig or Shade would. Before he got some parchment out, he spotted a letter out on Ron's desk. He walked over to it, making sure that the boy in question wasn't there to see him, and read it.

_Dear Mum,_

_I finally met Harry Potter! He's a bit strange though. Why did you say that he would probably need a lot of advice and that he would be really shy, Mum?! He was none of those things! Instead, he seemed really closed off and angry! I only said how awesome he was and he shouted at me! The boy needs help, Mum, otherwise Dumbledore won't be happy when he goes to talk to Potter only to find an angry, insane boy instead of the shy boy that he can mentor and train to be what he needs Potter to be! Don't worry, Mum, I'll soon be his best friend and I'll teach him everything he needs to know! Oh, and apparently Potter spoke to Ginny, so maybe she can give you some insight into him if you can get it out of her. Why does she have to be so stubborn and un-Weasley-like?! She needs to get over Potter! He's way to good for her, I can tell. Just let her down slowly, alright? Then maybe she'll help us and Dumbledore once she no longer cares for him like she seems to, having a crush on him and all that._

_From Ron._

Harry was beyond angry now. His suspicions were definitely proven now. The Weasleys, minus Ginny, and Dumbledore were all trying to turn him into a puppet! He had to find out how deep this plan of puppetry would go, so he'd have to keep a close watch on Ron and Dumbledore more than ever. Now he knew what to write to Ginny. He didn't want her to be fooled into following Dumbledore due to Ron's lies! She was now his only ally in this world it seemed, so he wasn't going to lose her! He put Ron's letter down and went over to his desk.

'Maybe that's why she's so special? She's the only one who truly gives a crap about me as a person in this stupid world,' Harry thought, but he had to shake those thoughts out of his head as he had more important things to do; like keeping said ally.

Harry picked out a roll of parchment and began to write his letter to her.

_Dear Ginny,_

_How are you? Scratch that, I reckon if you've read or heard your mother tell you about Ron's letter, you're pretty upset. What you need to understand is that he's full of lies. There's no way in hell that I'd become friends with him! Why the hell would I want to be friends with a guy who insults his own family behind their backs?! Well, when I say family, I mean only his sister, which is you. I don't like people who insult and bully others, it reminds me of my 'relatives', mainly my cousin, Dudley, and I taught them a lesson they wouldn't forget when they thought that they could get away with continuing their insults and bullying towards me and other pupils in my old primary school before Hogwarts. Whatever Ron writes home, and whatever your mother tells you concerning me, is a load of lies, so don't listen to them. Oh, he was right about my personality though, but what he failed to say was that I hate being fawned over as the only reason why I'm the 'Boy-Who-Lived' is because 'Lord' Voldemort (it's just a name, so don't be scared to use it as I told Ron yesterday. Also, who seriously would come up with a name like that?! He's no 'Lord', and Voldemort is just stupid! He's nothing more than a psychopath, and if he ever does come back, I'm a lot stronger than I was when I was 1-year-old, and a lot stronger than people like Dumbledore seem to believe that I am) murdered my parents and made me an orphan. Does that sound like something to celebrate and glorify?! No, of course not! Before you think I'm shouting at you, I'm not. You're the only person I've met so far that's actually not treated me any differently to another person just because of who I am and because of this stupid scar on my forehead. Anyway, so to summarise; don't trust your parents, don't trust Dumbledore, I do still want to be your friend, if something happens, something happens, I hate my title, and don't be scared by a simple name._

_All the best,_

_Harry._

Harry saw Ron walk up to his desk, after he had finished getting ready, and take his letter before walking out of the dormitory. Harry put his letter in an envelope and gave it to Hedwig and opened his window.

"Now Hedwig, I want to follow Ron to the Owlery as that's where I suspect that he's going to send his letter. Once given it to his family's owl and sent it off, follow after the owl, but don't make it obvious so that it won't steer you wrong. Once you get to the Weasley household, search for the young girl who I was talking to on King's Cross Station. That'll be Ginny, whom my letter is addressed to. Only give it to her, no-one else. Understand?" Harry whispered to Hedwig, and after a nod of understanding, she flew out of the window to search for Ron.

Hedwig didn't need to wait long for Ron to appear outside, and as her master (Harry) suspected, the boy was heading for the Owlery. She followed Ron and watched as he gave his letter to an owl, which flew off as Ron started to walk away. She began to follow the Weasley owl, and fortunately, the owl didn't seem very intelligent as he didn't notice that Hedwig was following him, so she was able to reach the Weasley household, a very oddly-shaped house, and search around for Ginny by looking through the windows inconspicuously. She eventually found Ginny lying on her bed face down and crying into her pillow. Hedwig felt bad for the girl that her master seemed to really like, even if he didn't know it yet, and tapped the window, hoping that her master's letter would cheer the girl up.

A few minutes earlier, Ron's letter arrived and Mrs. Weasley told Ginny everything Ron had said, including how Harry seemed to be too good for her. Mrs. Weasley then proceeded to tell her that she needed to get over Harry as he needed a real friend like Ron instead of someone who would only act like a fan-girl around him. At this, Ginny ran upstairs into her room before slamming the door and falling onto her bed as she began to cry.

'It couldn't be true, could it? Harry was so nice to me at King's Cross. He said that he would be my friend...Maybe he met and befriended Ron, so now he doesn't need a silly little girl like me...Why would he play me like that though, then have second thoughts? Maybe Ron was right and Harry wasn't such a good person after all...' Ginny thought as her young metaphorical heart slowly began to crack from the pain of Harry's (false) betrayal began to sink in.

Just then, Ginny heard a tap on her window. She looked up to see a beautiful snowy owl. It couldn't be, could it? As she got closer and opened the window, the owl flew in and landed on her shoulder before rubbing her face against Ginny's cheek affectionately. She realised that this owl was the same owl that she had seen Harry with at King's Cross. She had the same markings and everything! Harry hadn't forgotten Ginny after all...or maybe the letter on the owl's leg was a letter to say that he didn't need her friendship anymore now that he had Ron. Harry's owl seemed to sense her distress and rubbed against her cheek again in an effort to calm her down. Harry's owl stuck her leg out for Ginny to detach the letter from it, and the owl gestured to read the letter. So, Ginny gulped and gathered her courage, then began to read Harry's letter. After she was done reading it, she felt quite a few emotions. The first was happiness at the fact that Harry still wanted to be friends with her, the second was pride that he considered her to be a genuine friend, the third was anger at Harry's implication that Ron insulted her behind her back, and the fourth was rage at what Harry had warned her about. It was obvious that he must have read Ron's letter and he must not have liked it one bit. He was warning her of Dumbledore, the self-proclaimed leader of the Light, and her family's attempts to manipulate his and her lives now. She also felt betrayed by her family by knowing that they possibly routinely insulted her behind her back and attempted to manipulate her to hate Harry and become a part of their possible plot against him.

'Well I'll show them! I'm not a traitor! Harry's my friend and I'll stand by him no matter what!' Ginny thought, vowing to help Harry in whatever life threw at him.

What Harry also said after saying that he still wanted to be Ginny's friend made her blush. He had said that 'if something happens, something happens'. That must mean that he knew that she had a crush on him, yet it didn't seem to faze him. Either he might feel the same about her, or he just didn't understand emotions well, with the latter being the most likely option as it would explain the calm statement he made. However, she still saw this how any girl with a crush on a boy would see it; a flicker of hope. He was suggesting that he possibly wouldn't mind going out with her if anything happened between them. While this definitely brightened Ginny's mood, she always needed to take a more serious path with this. Harry wasn't brilliant with emotions, if his personality was anything to go by, he didn't trust easily, and his childhood hadn't been great either. All this made Ginny realise that what he truly meant by his statement was that she probably had to prove herself to be trustworthy, loyal, caring, and genuine to him before he'd even allow himself to feel anything besides friendship for her, and if that happened, she'd have to let him make the first move. Ginny decided that she would do her best to prove herself to Harry, and if he still only saw her as a friend after he deemed her all those things, she would move on, but she would still continue to be his friend and help him. After all, what are friends for? She then proceeded to write her own letter below his on the parchment. After she had finished, she tied the parchment to Hedwig's leg and sent her back to Hogwarts and to Harry, her official new friend.

Hedwig flew back to Hogwarts and made her way into the Great Hall where she sense her master was eating his breakfast after leaving his dormitory. As other owls dropped off their parcels and letters, she dropped Ginny's letter on her master's lap before landing on his shoulder, rubbing his cheek, then flying off back to the Owlery to rest after the two journeys.

Harry saw Hedwig drop a letter on his lap and then felt her rub his cheek before taking off again. He also subtly looked over at Dumbledore who was staring intently at him, as it was now obvious that he had two animals, Hedwig and Shade, who was sitting on the bench next to him. He expected the Headmaster to be calling him over to talk later about multiple pets, and oh how he couldn't wait to see the professors' faces when he told them that his 'pets' were his familiars. He proceeded to open the letter, slightly annoyed by many people now staring at him, obviously wondering who sent him a letter. As he opened the letter, he smelt a fragrance on his parchment that wasn't his. It smelt blatantly feminine, and from the flower combination, it smelt just like Ginny's hair from when he was talking to her at King's Cross (yes, Harry has keen senses, including smell. If you remember, he didn't actually smell her hair, but he was able to smell her shampoo in the air around her. Think Half-Blood Prince if you're wondering how). He wondered what she might have written. Had she read or been told about Ron's letter, or not? He hoped that she had done that first before she read his letter, as it would've meant that his letter would've meant more sense then. Just before he was about to read it though, the red-haired boy in question appeared.

"Hey, who's sent you a letter? Wait a minute, it's blank! Who would send you a blank letter?!" Ron asked intrusively, annoying Harry immensely.

"Maybe someone who didn't want anyone like you to read it, now get lost!" Harry replied angrily. He may have told a little white lie, but he didn't want to reveal his powers just yet, considering how much it takes to even do what he had done to his parchment.

Ron seemed to take the hint as he walked away back to his brothers with a scowl on his face. Harry merely smirked and began to read Ginny's letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_I wasn't feeling brilliant, you're right. Before your letter came, my mother read out Ron's letter to me and said that there wasn't any point in me wishing to get to know you as Ron was the best person to be your best friend. Your letter, however, helped my mood immensely. I was worried that you would abandon me after you made friends with Ron, so imagine my surprise when not only didn't you abandon me and still wanted to be my friend, but how you completely dismissed Ron's invitation for friendship! Not many people have chosen to befriend me over Ron (those people being girls) and they had also insulted me, except they did it to my face and delighted in seeing me cry (I was only young!). I always thought that Ron would stick up for me, yet you're saying that he does the same behind my back! Don't worry, I believe you, it sounds like something my idiotic brother would do actually. I still can't believe that Ron would think that you need his help! He's not bright at all, trust me! I also can't believe that Dumbledore and my family would actively be trying to manipulate us like this...Do you think they're trying to keep us away from each other? It feels that way from my end as my mother doesn't seem to want me to have anything to do with you unless it's sanctioned or ordered by her! And as for you, it seems like they want to use you for something as a puppet like thing that'll do what they believe is right! I can tell you that I've lost all respect for my family as they aren't the same people they were when I was younger. I don't know what's happened to them to make them this way, but it can't be anything good, and it has something to do with you, Harry. I'm worried about you, and I don't want to see you get hurt by my brothers, or Dumbledore, or whoever. You're my first real friend (beside my old female somewhat-friends, but they're long gone now), and I don't want to lose you. I know I sound really paranoid, but what I've seen, read, and heard, I can't help it. Harry be safe, be strong, and be careful._

_Love Ginny._

After Harry read Ginny's letter, her last sentence hit him deep. Why did those words seem so familiar? He'd probably find out soon, but classes were about to start, so he pocketed Ginny's letter and picked up his school bag ready to leave. He smirked when he heard Dumbledore try to call his name, but he pretended to not hear it. Oh how he would love to see the look on the old man's face once he got out of sight. Now, it was time to see whether these lessons would be what they were cracked up to be...


	6. Chapter 6: First Lessons and Impressions

**Author's note: Harry recounts his first lessons and shows a certain professor why he shouldn't be messed with in this chapter. Harry also does some training in martial arts that you get to read about. Now, let's continue...**

Chapter 6: First Lessons and First Impressions

Harry was practicing his bōjutsu in the Room of Requirement as he hadn't done any training with his bō staff for a while. Once of the many martial arts that he had learned over the years was bōjutsu, and he had become quite a master at it, but as they say, practice makes perfect, and he wanted to stay perfect, so he had to keep training. He had purchased a bō a few years back just after he first began training in martial arts. He started with training in the ways of karate, taekwondo, and judo, before picking up more martial arts. Not far into his training, he saw a bō and became interested in it. His instructor explained how the bō was used as a weapon, then gave a bō to Harry. Needless to say, he instantly became a natural in the ways of bōjutsu, and he eventually bought one himself (after he took control over his life and didn't allow the Dursleys to trample over him, they gave him an allowance, just like Dudley, so he used that money to buy his bō) to train with at Privet Drive.

Anyway, the other reason why Harry was training was that he needed to burn the stress of today off. He had his first lessons today and he couldn't believe some of the professors were actually qualified to teach! His first lesson had been Transfiguration, which he found to be an interesting class as it was obvious that McGonagall didn't get her post without skill. Their task had been to transfigure a match into a needle. Many students struggled with this, even with some of them being exposed to magic early on, and only managed to get a sort of half-transfiguration by the end of the lesson. Harry fully transfigured his match into a needle on his first try, and if he was honest, it was all too easy for him. He could've easily done that wandlessly and wordlessly without even breaking a sweat, but again, he didn't want to reveal too much about his powers just yet. Being a magical prodigy, and topping the bookworm, Hermione Granger (who was fuming as it still took her a few tries to get the spell right, so she didn't understand how Harry could do it so easily), was enough for now. Harry's efforts also earned Gryffindor 20 points for doing something no-one had ever done before in the first lesson of Transfiguration; fully transfigure an object on the first try.

The next lesson was Charms. Professor Flitwick also seemed to know his charms, much to Harry's approval and relief. Flitwick had the students do the levitating spell, Wingardium Leviosa, this lesson on feathers. Once again, the same people struggled again, Hermione levitated the feather after the first few tries, and tried to teach Ron how to do it properly, but due to the idiot's affinity for magic, it did him no good. Harry again, levitated the feather on the first try, annoying Hermione once more, and earning another 20 points for Gryffindor. Flitwick was quite impressed with Harry and asked him to try to levitate other objects in the room, including himself. Harry left the half-goblin Charms professor giddy with excitement when he left as he had levitated books, bag, stools, tables, Flitwick himself, and anything else he could think to conjure before the lesson ended.

The lesson after Charms was Potions, and Harry could already tell by the atmosphere of the classroom, and by the way that Snape carried himself, that this would not be a good lesson at all. Straight away, Snape began his monologue on how good Potions was and what he could do with different potions. Harry had a feeling that the Potions Master probably could do all of these things, but he'd never actually teach them to anyone due to the pride and resentfulness in the man's eyes that said that he was better than everyone else. Then, Snape saw Harry and a smirk appeared on his face. Harry didn't like where he believed this was going as he knew what that sort of look meant, but he was going to enjoy humiliating him...

"Mr. Potter...Our new celebrity...Tell me; when I add powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood, what does that make?" Snape sneered, obviously believing that Harry couldn't know the answer.

"The Draught of Living Death, sir..." Harry answered quickly. He had read all of this before he even got to school, but he found it odd that Snape would be asking a first year student questions that older years needed to know the answers to instead.

"Lucky guess. Where would you go if I asked you to find me a bezoar, Mr. Potter?" Snape growled, obviously not happy that Harry answered his question, so he tried again.

"It's a stone from the stomach of a goat. It can save you from most poisons as well..." Harry replied, mentally grinning as Snape grew increasingly angrier.

"What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?!" Snape growled again as he was running out of questions for Harry.

"There isn't any difference...They're the same plant..." Harry answered, almost losing all interest in this one-sided battle of minds where he was winning by a landslide against Snape.

"10 points from Gryffindor for cheating! There's no way a first year could know the answers to any of these questions!" Snape bellowed.

"Number 1, you shouldn't have asked a first year student those questions if you didn't expect an answer; number 2, you can't take points off for unjust punishments! I did what's known as read ahead as it was a nice reprieve from some annoyances, so I merely memorized and remembered the answers! It'll do me well when I'm older, won't it?! And number 3, what is your problem with me?! Once you saw me, you try to humiliate me by insulting me, yes I heard your tone of voice as I've been known to be very perceptive, and then ask me questions while ignoring everyone else! I will not stand here and be insulted by a so-called professor just because he feels like it! So, either you cancel your unjust punishment, or I'll have you sacked for gross behaviour! Do I make myself clear, Professor Snape?!" Harry retorted, shocking every single student in the room. They had heard from their parents, older friends, and older siblings that no-one had ever dared to stand up to Professor Snape, especially a Gryffindor! Everyone knew that the man was unfair, except for the Slytherins as he was their Head of House, but they knew better than to challenge his unjust punishments. However, this changed for the first years as they saw Harry Potter call Snape up on his unjustly behaviour, and the greasy-haired, cruel man actually had what seemed to be a fearful expression on his face.

"Y-you're h-house p-point d-deduction is c-cancelled, Mr. P-Potter...Now, let's continue the lesson..." Snape replied fearfully.

For the rest of the Potions lesson, Snape set out a task to create a simple potion and merely told the class to turn to page 1 in their textbooks, where the potion method was to be found. Harry scowled as Snape continued to teach, if letting the students find out everything for themselves was even called 'teaching'. Despite that, Harry still managed to create a perfect potion, whereas everyone else, including Hermione, were never able to complete their potions as they either did a step wrong, or the Slytherins would try to sabotage the Gryffindors. What surprised the Slytherins most off all was that Snape never insulted the Gryffindors over their sabotages, rather he remained quiet, possibly a side effect of being scared by Harry. Speaking of him, since he finished early, he merely sat back and began to read his other textbooks, which made Malfoy and his cronies believe that they could get something past Harry and get their revenge. Unfortunately for them, Harry expected such disgraceful behaviour and had charmed his cauldron to absorb any unfriendly spell without being harmed, much to the annoyance of Malfoy and his cronies, who threw spell after spell at Harry's cauldron, only for them to be absorbed by his defensive shields.

After Potions, Harry walked around to get away from everyone, and that's how he found the Room of Requirement, which altered its interior to fit its occupant's needs. For Harry, the Room of Requirement became a dojo for him to practise his martial arts. Back to the present, he had decided that he had had enough just practicing the moves of bōjutsu, so he conjured a training dummy that he had read about in one of his Transfiguration textbooks, and conjured a second bō for it to use. Harry programmed the dummy to fight like a true martial artist, so he automatically put his guard up. It was a good thing too, as the dummy almost immediately attacked him after it was programmed. Harry trained with the dummy for a few hours, parrying its strikes, swipes, and lunges, before fighting back with his own attacks. Eventually, he decided to finish by swiping for the dummy's legs, knocking it to the floor before stabbing it, rendering it defeated. He proceeded to remove the dummy and second bō before shrinking his own and pocketing it before heading off to the Gryffindor common room to rest. It had been quite an eventful day, but Harry was one step closer to learning more about the plot against him, who he could trust, and who were against him.


	7. Chapter 7: Halloween

**Author's notes: Now, many of you have been talking about Harry's attitude, Snape's instant defeatist attitude in the last chapter, and how Harry and Ginny are quite mature and powerful for their age. I'll address this here. With Snape, I should've probably mentioned that he was shocked by Harry's outburst as no-one had ever stood up to him before, so that scared him a little. Don't worry, he'll be back to being normal Snape later. As for Harry's attitude, he is very OOC. Living with the Dursleys has had a negative effect on his social skills, so he gets emotional and angry easily. I should've probably mentioned that earlier. On a positive note, he will get better, starting with this chapter, as he gets more allies and continues talking to Ginny. Ginny will give him the social skills he needs, with her influence becoming apparent in this chapter, before anyone suggests how quickly Harry seems to change towards Hermione in this chapter (yes, I've decided to make Hermione an ally as I do prefer her to be good). As for Harry and Ginny's maturity, he never had a childhood, so matured quicker than normal, plus he would want to defend himself, so would learn everything he could. Remember, this is a Powerful Harry fanfic and he will have many abilities at his disposal, as that's the way I planned my story. As for Ginny, she will also be OOC in regards to Harry, and she has to be to become his ally and ultimately get away from her family. As for introducing herself by her full name, she felt the same odd feeling of trust towards Harry, like he did to her, so that's why she introduced herself like that. This is my first story, and it's early on, so I will be getting into more depth as I continue writing, so don't worry there either. I do thank you for your reviews and I'm sorry for not addressing some of the issues you've found with the way I've portrayed the characters.**

**I don't own Harry Potter, J. does. Now, on with the story...**

Chapter 7: Halloween

A over a month had passed since Harry had come to Hogwarts, and nothing really changed. Harry had excelled in all of his classes, even in Potions, and always came out with the top marks. Snape still tried to humiliate Harry whenever he could, but Harry never gave the man the satisfaction, as he never got into a situation where Snape could try to punish him. However, this didn't stop Snape from routinely trying to use Legilimency on Harry, but to no effect thanks to Harry's impressive mental shields. On a positive note, Harry and Ginny had exchanged multiple letters and he had managed to teach her the spell to hide her writing from anyone other than her or him, so they exchanged letters normally from then on without him needing to use loads of enlargement charms. Harry had found himself opening up more to Ginny with every exchange, telling her about his childhood, his fears, and his suspicions. She did the same, and the two quickly built up a close friendship.

As Harry got up this morning, he realised what day it was...It was the day he always dreaded...Today was Halloween; the day his parents were murdered. This put him in a sad mood for the day. While he acted tough in front of others, he was still an 11 year old boy who had no parents, or any true family. He felt completely alone in the world, and if it hadn't been for Ginny becoming his friend, he might have become even more closed off than he already was. He found that by talking to her and opening up, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Was this what it felt like to be truly cared about?

Harry shuck those thoughts from his head as he get showered and dressed before heading to the Great Hall for breakfast and, if he was being honest, he was starving. The rest of the day went pretty quickly to Harry. Nothing really interesting happened, except for Charms class. Hermione was teaching Ron how to do a spell again, and although her actions were justly, the stupid boy didn't seem to think this as he instantly insulted her about her 'know-it-all' attitude. Unfortunately, she heard his insult and ran away crying. Harry found himself actually feeling bad for the girl. Strange as she may be, no-one deserved to be insulted for trying to help someone, even if that person was beyond help.

When it was time for dinner, everyone entered the Great Hall and sat down ready to eat. Harry sat down on his own like usual. He didn't want to socialise with anyone as they only ever seemed to be interested in his title, nothing else. One thing did seem odd to him as he looked down the Gryffindor table; Hermione still wasn't anyway to be seen. Harry didn't know why, but he wanted to know where she was to help her if he could. Ginny was probably rubbing off on him in more ways than one. He decided to ask Neville Longbottom, a shy boy, but Harry had a feeling that he might know something due to the group he was in.

"Hey Neville, do you happen to know where Hermione is? I haven't seen her since she ran off crying after Ron insulted her..." Harry asked, spitting out Ron's name in disgust.

"Well, I heard the other girls saying that Hermione had locked herself in the girls' bathroom and that she has been there all afternoon," Neville answered timidly.

"Thanks Neville," Harry said before returning to his place on the bench.

As Harry began to eat, he thought about how different his life was now that he had joined the magical world. He also tried to figure out how to approach Hermione and try to see how she was, however, what happened next, would become the catalyst for a completely new plan to whatever he was thinking...

"Troll! In the dungeon! Troll in the dungeon! Just thought you'd all want to know..." Professor Quirrell exclaimed, expressing absolute fear before he fainted.

This caused an uproar amongst all of the students except Harry. He noticed the fake fear in the professor's eyes and became instantly suspicious of his motives and whether he let the troll in. It wasn't common for a mountain troll to somehow enter a warded castle on its own. Someone let it in, and Quirrell was the prime suspect in Harry's eyes. Soon, Dumbledore silenced the panicked students and ordered the prefects to escort the students back to their common rooms. As Harry was about to join his housemates, he remembered something, and that something made him pale. Hermione was still in the girls' bathroom and had no idea that a troll was loose in the school. After making sure that no-one was watching, he broke from the crowd and ran towards the bathroom corridor. Once he arrived, he was greeted to a sight that wasn't good news for Hermione. Harry saw the troll, which had somehow got out of the dungeon, if it was even there to begin with, and was heading into the girls' bathroom, right where Hermione was. Harry continued forward, hoping that he wouldn't get in too late.

Hermione was still crying, and had been for a few hours now. Ron had been talking to his friends about how she was nothing more than a 'know-it-all' and that "she wonders why she doesn't have any friends." Those comments hurt her deeply as she realised just how true they were. From a young age, she had known that she was smarter than her peers. She always got the top marks, and was then bullied for this. When she got her Hogwarts letter, she hoped that she would get a better start, but she instantly fell into the bossy, 'know-it-all' attitude and people began to dislike her again. She even met THE Harry Potter and insulted him just because he didn't act like what the books said. His words and attitude made her rethink her views about knowledge and she realised that he was probably right about things such as biographies and such. Many times, she had tried to apologise to him, but either he'd have already gone somewhere to be alone, or she'd let her jealousy of him being the new 'top-in-the-class' get the better of her. If only she had been nicer to him, she may have had a friend here. It was obvious that he needed companionship too, as he was very closed off and very easy to anger. What could've happened to him to cause him to be this way? She didn't know, but she wanted to find out...if he ever gave her a chance, which she highly doubted. She wouldn't blame him if he didn't want to be her friend either, after what her first impression on him must've been. Just then, she heard something enter the bathroom...Something large! She hesitantly opened the door, only to wish she hadn't a moment later. Right in front of her stood a mountain troll, and he looked very angry. As she began to step back, still in shock of seeing this monster, the troll lifted its club and swung it at her. If it wasn't for her small, nimble frame, the club would've knocked her head off as she dropped to the floor and tried to crawl away while screaming for help.

"Someone! Anyone! HELP! HELP ME!" Hermione screamed in terror, hoping that someone would hear her pleas.

Fortunately, someone did, and that someone was Harry. He had just arrived as the troll swung for Hermione. Harry saw a piece of one of the broken cubicle doors, so, to buy Hermione time to escape, he picked the piece up and threw it at the troll. This served to anger the troll, but it's attention was now on Harry instead of Hermione, giving her chance to crawl forward towards him. Once she was close enough, he stepped in front of her and glared at the troll. As Harry analysed the troll to locate any weaknesses, something clicked in his head. The club! If he could whack the troll with its club, then it would knock it out! Now, how to do so...Of course! Harry pointed his hand at the troll's club and muttered an incantation.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry bellowed, lifting the club out of the troll's hand before it could swing at Harry. Trolls weren't very intelligent creatures, so it looked around for its club, wondering what had happened to make it leave its hand. It soon looked up hesitantly to see its club above him and it merely stared and its club with a confused expression, probably wondering how it got there. Harry saw his chance and dropped the club right onto the troll's head, knocking it out cold as it fell to the ground.

"Is it...dead?" Hermione asked, still slightly wary of the troll, plus not really being too fond of the idea of Harry killing it, even if it was trying to kill her.

"No, just knocked out. The professors can take it back into the wild with no harm done now, so don't worry," Harry said, smiling in reassurance.

"I can't tell you how grateful I am for you saving me...but why? After what I said to you and how I acted towards you, I wouldn't have blamed you if you had just left me..." Hermione said, looking down in shame and remorse for what she had done to him.

"What, and you think that I'd like to have that on my conscience? If I could've saved you, I would've done so, and seeing that I could, I did. I may be a lot of things, Hermione, but a coward, I am not. It takes a coward to walk away when someone is in trouble, whether they've done you wrong or not. Walking away isn't my style," Harry explained, raising his eyebrow questioningly at her.

"I can see that. Oh Harry, I'm so sorry for what I've done to you...I was bigoted, jealous and stupid...I should've never said those things to you, nor judged you...I've been trying to talk to you for the last month to apologise, but things kept getting in my way all of the time...I just want you to know that I'm really sorry...I'd like us to start afresh, but I'd understand if you wouldn't want to get to know me...I wouldn't blame you if you didn't take my offer and walked away after this...Lord knows I'd deserve as much for insulting you and-" Hermione apologised, but was cut off by Harry putting a finger to her lips, effectively silencing her.

"Hermione, as odd as it sounds, a friend of mine made me see things a lot differently this past month. If it wasn't for her, I'd probably not be here now. I heard what Ron had done from Neville. I don't really know why I asked, but for some reason, I felt a urge to help you. Once the news of the troll came about, I remembered about you, so I came looking for you. It's a good job that I found you, it seems. As to your offer, I'd like to start afresh and be your friend...I'm Harry Potter, pleased to meet you!" Harry explained before holding out her hand while smiling. Yes, Ginny had definitely rubbed off on him.

"I'm Hermione Granger, and the pleasure's all mine!" Hermione said excitedly. At last, she finally had found a true friend. While he was nothing like the books, he still had a noble streak in him, which must've been why he was placed in Gryffindor. Plus, he hated cowards, which is another Gryffindor trait, and something that Hermione found amusing in her head.

Just then, Harry and Hermione's 'fresh start' was interrupted by Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell arriving, and at seeing the troll, McGonagall looked furious and terrified.

"Oh my goodness! Explain yourselves! Both of you!" McGonagall demanded.

Hermione was about to make up a lie to get Harry out of trouble when he put a finger to her lips, silencing her again. The truth would win out this time, he was sure of that.

"I can explain this. After Charms, Hermione went missing after being insulted by Ronald Weasley, just for helping him with his spell technique! I found out at dinner that she had been in the girls' bathroom all afternoon, crying, so I was going to look for her after, but we all know what happened next. Basically, I seemed to be the only one to remembered that he didn't know about this and was in danger, so I broke out of the crowd and went to look for her. I know my way to the common room as if it was second nature now, so I would've been able to take her back there if the troll hadn't have somehow 'escaped' from the dungeons and tried to kill Hermione. By the way, it is only knocked out. I dropped its club on its head using the levitation charm. If you're going to punish someone, punish me for not following orders, but don't punish Hermione for being a victim of bullying!" Harry explained firmly, leaving no room for doubt.

"Well...while it was against your orders to do so, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. It isn't common for a first year student to take on a fully-grown mountain troll and live to tell the tale! 10 points...will be awarded for your bravery and good use of the levitation charm. Also, I will be speaking to Mr. Weasley about his actions. I have seen him acting like this before what Miss Granger has tried to help him, and I'm ashamed to have not acknowledged it sooner. Now, you two head back to your common room. I'm sure that your housemates will be worried about you," McGonagall said, smiling slightly at the surprised looks on the two students' faces.

Harry panned across the group of teachers and locked eyes with Dumbledore, then Snape. He felt them try to use Legilimency on him again, and groaned in annoyance at their feeble attempts to get information out of him. He pushed both of them out of his mind easily, causing them to stumble slightly from the force. When he got to Quirrell, however, he was met with a different expression. The man was scowling at him, as if annoyed that he stopped the troll. This only seemed to confirm his suspicions of Quirrell being the one to set the troll loose. What Harry needed to know now was why Quirrell set the troll loose in the first place? He guessed that he'd find out soon as he decided that now was the best time to leave, so he put a comforting arm around Hermione's shoulders and lead her past the professors towards the common room. Well, it was official...nothing normal would ever happen to Harry Potter...


	8. Chapter 8: The Mirror of Erised

**Author's notes: This will be a shorter chapter than normal due to it being on the one event of Harry's first year. To answer some of the reviews about Harry's unconventional spell and martial arts skills, remember that this is a very AU story. I understand that masters won't let young children near weapons at the age Harry would've been when he started, but for my story, they just did due to being an AU story. As for his spell work, he won't have actually practiced his 'school spells'. He will have done a bit of reading, but he will have mainly been getting in tune with his magic and learning ways to protect himself. He would've deliberately kept away from school stuff as he would want to get away from the Dursleys. If he knew everything, he wouldn't have gone as it wouldn't have been the perfect place to get away to. He would've just left to go train somewhere else. He wanted a fresh start, and if he learned everything early, there would be no fresh start. Sorry for not mentioning this in earlier chapters. Thanks for the reviews, and before I forget, yes, the Flying Lesson scene will have taken place, Harry is the Gryffindor seeker, but I didn't put it in as it wasn't necessary for the plot of my story. Now, with that out of the way, I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters, J. does, and on with the story!**

Chapter 8: The Mirror of Erised

After Halloween, many things had happened to Harry, and they weren't brilliant. They included getting routine mental attacks by Snape and Dumbledore; having his Nimbus 2000 broom jinxed in the first Quidditch match of the season, nearly killing him in the process had it not been for Hermione's quick thinking; and learning about what lay in the third floor corridor.

Harry and Hermione had accidently found themselves there one day after the staircase moved abruptly and they entered the first door they could find...the door to the third floor corridor. They found a three-headed dog, known as a Cerberus, in one of the rooms there, and after they escaped, they discussed what they had seen. Harry and Hermione both noticed that one of its paws was on a trapdoor, which meant that it was guarding something special in the school. But what was being guarded? They didn't have an answer for that. However, after talking to Hagrid about a professor possibly jinxing Harry's broom, they got onto the subject of the Cerberus. Harry wondered whether the person who let the troll in was trying to get past the Cerberus, which lead Hagrid to say that the beast was his, that it was named Fluffy, and that what it was guarding was between Dumbledore and a 'Nicholas Flamel'. Harry thought that the name sounded familiar, and after looking through his Chocolate Frog cards, he found a mention of Flamel on Dumbledore's card. Hermione then did some research and found a book that stated that Flamel was the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone. They both agreed that the Stone was what Fluffy was guarding, but from who, they didn't know.

After an exchange of letters with Ginny detailing Harry's and Hermione's findings, Ginny came up with the idea that maybe, Dumbledore believed that if Voldemort was still alive, he had found out about the Stone and was after it, so Dumbledore hid it away, hoping to keep it safe. Harry thought that this was a plausible idea, but one thing didn't sit right with him. Why would Dumbledore hide the Stone in a school full of students? It didn't seem logical. Add on the fact that Dumbledore warned the students of looking in the third floor corridor, and it seemed like the old man was trying to test the students...or maybe a specific student...Harry. Ginny also thought that his theory on Dumbledore testing him might be plausible as well, considering how he was trying to manipulate and control which path Harry took, so why not try to tempt him with going to find whatever was in the third floor corridor.

Soon, it was Christmas time, and while Hermione went back home to spend Christmas with her family and Ginny went to Romania with her parents to visit her brother Charlie, Harry was left alone. He found himself walking around the corridors and grounds thinking about certain aspects of his life, as well as doing his customary afternoon martial arts training. He still wondered how he had let Ginny and Hermione, albeit to a lesser extent, into his life so easily. He had never been one to be trusting before them, so why now? He even hated Hermione a few days before becoming her friend, so how did that work?! These thoughts kept running through his head nonstop until one day, they lead him to an unknown portion of Hogwarts that he had never seen before. He found himself facing an old door which was slightly rusty and chipped. For some reason, he had an urge to enter the room, and did so, opening the door cautiously, checking for any ambushers, before entering completely. As he looked around the room, he found what looked to be an old, full portrait-sized mirror. Above it was a Latin inscription that he unfortunately couldn't understand very well as it all looked to be backwards, and split in odd places to make incoherent words. As Harry continued to stare into the mirror, he was met with a shocking sight...

Right before Harry's eyes, his reflection grew older until he looked to be in his mid-thirties. Just then, a young girl appeared by his side...It was Ginny. Soon, the Mirror Ginny too grew older until she was almost the same age as the Mirror Harry. The Mirror versions of the two children entwined their hands and looked at each other lovingly. Just as sudden as Mirror Ginny's appearance, a little bundle appeared in her arms, resembling a little baby, and a girl by her clothes and face. She had Ginny's red hair, and Harry's emerald-green eyes. The real Harry merely stared at the reflection before him in shock. What did this all mean? Why was he seeing himself and Ginny older with a baby girl in her arms? While it was obvious that the older couple were obviously in love, due to living in the conditions he had, the real Harry had no idea what he was seeing as he had just never seen this before. No love. No compassion. No care. Not until he had met Ginny, yet he still was clueless to all of this. Hell, he was still an 11 year old boy who had no experience in this sort of thing. How else was he supposed to react to seeing an older version of himself with an older version of his friend? Not brilliantly, no. And just when things couldn't get anymore strange, a voice appeared behind him having seemed to have come from nowhere.

"Ah, Harry, my boy. It seems that you, like so many others, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised? I assume that you might know what it does. I'll give you a hint; the happiest man on Earth would look into the Mirror to see only himself, exactly as he is..." Dumbledore said in his fake grandfatherly tone of voice, making Harry feel uncomfortable around the Headmaster, but he would play the old fool's game...for now...

"It shows us what we want...Whatever we want?" Harry suggested, albeit not knowing what it showed at all. Why would he want himself to be older holding an older Ginny's hand anyway?

"Yes...and no...It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desires of our hearts. Now, you never knew your parents, yet you see them, standing beside you," Dumbledore explained, but his last sentence made Harry very suspicious. The Headmaster seemed convinced that Harry had seen his parents, so it seemed that his 'helpful' attitude might be another ploy at trying to gain control over him. Well, he'd leave the old man to keep thinking that he was right, even though he wasn't, but that still didn't take away the fact that apparently, Harry's deepest desire was to be older with Ginny...But why would he desire this? He guessed that he might never know if he continued like this.

"Now Harry, the Mirror gives us neither knowledge, nor truth. Men have wasted away in front of it, and have even gone mad with wanting their desires to come true, only to fail. That is why it will be moved to a new home soon, and I must ask you...not to go looking for it again. It doesn't do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live, Harry. Not at all. Well, I best leave you. Goodbye, Harry. If you need anything, do not hesitate to come and see me," Dumbledore said before exiting the room, leaving Harry alone once more with his thoughts.

What Dumbledore had said shocked Harry to his core. First, Dumbledore obviously had expected this, so how else was he spying on Harry as he must've done to know where he was going and when. Second, Harry seemed to desired to be older and be with Ginny, but in what way was totally beyond him at this point in time. And thirdly, it seemed as though Dumbledore was daring Harry to go looking for the Mirror again. Why else would he gaze at him, pause, then say in a daring tone 'not to go looking for it again'? It was obvious that Dumbledore was trying to manipulate Harry again and try to get him to go down through the trapdoor. This only served to prove his suspicions correct. This was all a test...for him, and Dumbledore was watching to see if Harry would pass or not. With those thoughts in his head, Harry left the room, looking back one last time at the Mirror of Erised and the blissfully happy older Harry and Ginny.


	9. Chapter 9: Truth and Plans

**Author's notes: A lot of you have been complaining about Harry's attitude, especially towards Snape. I did make Harry out to be a little arrogant because, at that time, he wasn't reigned in or calmed by anyone, and he believed that people like the Durselys, Malfoys, Weasleys (minus Ginny), Dumbledore, and Snape, are all bad people and deserve punishment. Yes, he was sort of AWOL, but the whole point of that was that he started like that, then his friends, like Ginny and Hermione would make him better. If you've watched the Doctor Who series with the 9th Doctor and the episode Water of Mars with the 10th, I think that these are good examples of comparison to Harry's attitude. The Doctors let their anger get the best of them at certain stages, just like Harry, and went a little crazy (Time Lord Victorious, for example). I myself have fallen for that, and I immediately regret my actions after. I will clear this up near the end of this chapter. Don't worry, Harry will be much calmer now, with the reason why being explained, but there will still be a darkness inside him that he will need to fight against. Anyway, on with the story...**

Chapter 9: Truth and Plans

The next day, Harry was still confused about what he had seen in the Mirror of Erised. What did it mean? Why the hell would he see and older version of himself and Ginny, her with a baby to boot? How was that his deepest desire? He wondered whether to tell her about this as she might have an idea about this. After all, she did have more experience than him in emotions. So, he got out a piece of parchment and wrote his letter to Ginny. Harry then went to the Owlery and gave Hedwig the letter before sending her off to Ginny. He only hoped that Ginny would be able to shed some light on this confusing matter.

A while later at the Burrow, Ginny was in her room after escaping from her mother's most recent interrogation session on Harry and who was sending her letters. She never was going to tell her mother, of all people, that it was in fact Harry who was sending her letters, as her mother would never stop asking questions or trying to read them. Although, it would be funny to watch the Weasley matriarch getting frustrated over seeing what would appear to her as a blank piece of parchment. Just then, Ginny noticed a white speck in the distance flying ever closer to her window. As the speck got closer, she noticed that it was Hedwig carrying another letter. Ginny opened her window to let Hedwig fly in before closing it again after. Ginny took the letter off Hedwig and examined it. Why would Harry send her a letter so quickly since their last exchange? Well, she guessed that she'd find out once she opened the letter, which is exactly what she did next. She pulled the string off and unravelled the parchment before starting to read Harry's latest letter.

_Dear Ginny,_

_Something strange happened to me yesterday. I was walking around the corridors and found this room with a mirror. I learned later that it was called the Mirror of Erised. When I walked up to it, instead of seeing my reflection, I saw an older version of me. And the weirdest thing is that you were in the mirror too. Again, you were also older, and you had a baby in your arms. I don't get why I would see this. Dumbledore soon appeared and mentioned that the Mirror shows us our deepest desires. He, for some reason, believed that I had seen my parents in the Mirror. I played along, but it just made me wonder what's truly going on in that mind of his. He tried to act all grandfatherly, hoping that I would look up to him in awe at his 'vast informational resource' that was his mind, then he told me to come to him if I ever needed him. I think he's trying to get me to trust and follow him so that I become some sort of a tool for him. Anyway, I need help with understanding my apparent 'deepest desire', and I was wondering whether you had any ideas. You're better at emotions than me, so please reply back soon with your theories please. Also, do you think I should tell Hermione about Dumbledore and your family's plans for me? I'm not sure whether she'd believe me as she's still not entirely set against Dumbledore due to what she's obviously read and heard about how 'great' he is._

_Reply soon,_

_Harry._

After reading Harry's letter, Ginny was completely stunned. Harry had seen older versions of themselves, with a baby, in a mirror that showed a person's deepest desire?! He had seen them as a family! While he obviously didn't understand it yet, he too had feelings for her, just like she had feelings for him. Long gone was her crush on 'Harry Potter', but what replaced it was a deep affection for the _real_ Harry, the boy who befriended her and never gave her up for her brothers or anyone else. However, she knew that he had problems dealing with his emotions. After explaining his childhood before he stood up to the Dursleys, it wasn't a surprise that he lashed out all of the time. He had never received the love and companionship that a young child was supposed to have, so what did he do? He put his head into his studies, magical control and protection, and physical protection via martial arts. She struggled to decide whether to tell Harry what his desire meant, or whether not to. If she did, he might consider her crazy, reject her, and break their friendship up, but if she didn't tell him, he might think that she's lying to him, so will break their friendship up based on lack of trust. Ginny thought long and hard about her answer to that question, but in the end, she settled for the half truth. She'd say that she had theories, but that he would have to figure it out for himself as she didn't want to influence him in any way. As to whether to tell Hermione the truth about their findings and suspicions, she believed that the girl had proved herself and deserved to know. After all, another ally on their side would be good for them. She got her own piece of parchment and wrote her letter before giving it to Hedwig. Ginny then opened to window to let Hedwig out, hoping that Harry wouldn't be too upset or confused by her answers.

A while later, Hedwig returned to Harry in his dormitory and entered through the opened window before landing on Harry's shoulder. He took the letter off Hedwig before she rubbed his cheek and flew out of the window, back to the Owlery. He unravelled the parchment and read Ginny's letter, intrigued to know what her theories were.

_Dear Harry,_

_To say that I was shocked by how quickly you wrote to me since last time would be an understatement. It's difficult to try and explain to you what you saw, as no-one normally gets to see their deepest desire standing in front of you. Imagine my shock when you said that you saw us older, and me with a baby. I have my theories on what it might mean, but I don't feel as though it's right for me to tell you. I don't want to influence you in anyway, so I think it's best if you figure it out for yourself. As you get older and more in tune with your emotions, you'll understand, I'm sure. As for telling Hermione everything, I think that you should. You said that she's a very intelligent girl, second only in classes to you, so she could become a great ally to us. I'm sure that she'll believe you when you tell her. You are her only friend, if what you, and Ron to a lesser extent, have told me, and I highly doubt that she would think of you as a liar or insult you for your 'accusations' as she'd know that she'd lose your friendship, something I would never want, and I'm sure that she wouldn't want either. Please don't be mad at me for what I've told you. Remember to look at it from an unbiased point of view like I've told you, and hopefully, you'll see my reasoning._

_Love Ginny._

Harry finished reading Ginny's letter and felt his temper rise at her failure to answer him properly. However, her last sentence made him remember one of her earlier letters on his temper, so he calmed himself and re-read her letter. Soon, he saw that she knew that whatever she said would influence his views as he would believe her on this subject due to his lack of knowledge on it, so he didn't blame her for it. However, he was still a little frustrated. He still had no idea what the meaning of the image in the Mirror of Erised was, and he was nowhere nearer to finding out. He did agree with Ginny about Hermione, though. He wanted to tell her the truth, but wanted a second opinion on this, more specifically Ginny's opinion. So, he decided that once Hermione returned from her holiday, he would tell her everything.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for Harry to wait as the Christmas holidays ended soon after he had made his decision, and Hermione had returned for the new term. He greeted her warmly before taking her aside to finally tell her everything.

"What's wrong, Harry? You've got that thoughtful look on your face. You can tell me anything, you know that, right?" Hermione asked with concern. Same old Hermione, always worried about him.

"Well, there's something I've got to tell you. You might not like it, but I swear on my magic that it's the truth. You've got to believe me, alright?" Harry answered firmly, hoping that Hermione would believe him as he didn't want to lose his only friend in Hogwarts at the moment.

"Of course I'll believe you, Harry. You're my best friend, after all. Now please, tell me what's bothering you," Hermione said, gesturing for Harry to continue.

"Alright. Well, remember what I told you about my friend, Ginny?" Harry asked, and at Hermione's nod, he continued, "Me and her have found out that her family had deliberately acted the way they have, trying to befriend me and 'show me the ropes' because they are trying to find a way to control me and make me the 'perfect Light warrior', if you will. What's even more disturbing is that we found out, and from something that Ginny's mother herself said, was that Dumbledore is orchestrating it all. Just before the Christmas holiday ended, he tried to be helpful and acted grandfatherly towards me, but I could see that in his eyes, there was something more sinister at play in his attitude. They also tried to turn Ginny against me by saying that I didn't want her as a friend, or anything else for that matter, but I was able to read Ron's letter and send my own off to contradict him, saving Ginny from their plot against us. I'm telling you this because you're my friend, and you deserve to know. Please believe me on this. I know that you think that Dumbledore is a 'great' man, but he isn't. Something's not right with him, and it concerns me..." Harry explained, not missing out any details.

Hermione looked at Harry with a shocked expression on her face. He was telling her that the man who everyone looked up to, the leader of the Light, was actually bad? Why would he say this? Then she remembered some things. She remembered how the Headmaster would seem to be watching Harry at breakfast, lunch, and dinner like a hawk would when stalking its prey. And the look in his eyes worried her. Harry's words also sounded sincere, and the look in his eyes also backed up his sincerity. This was her best friend, Harry Potter. Why would he lie to her? What could he possibly achieve? All that would happen, if he was lying, was that she would leave him, and he'd be alone all over again and devolve back into an arrogant, cruel shell of the boy he was now.

It had taken a while, but she and Ginny had got through to him after the first 'Snape incident' as they all called it. No longer did he let his anger get the better of him. He had told Hermione that he was actually distressed and ashamed of himself after the 'Snape incident', and after Ginny had told him off and to act better than the greasy-haired git, he calmed down considerably. Once he and Hermione became friends, he calmed down further. Sure, he still could get angry, and he'd certainly tell people like Ron and Malfoy where to go, but that was due to what they, and their families, had done to him, so you couldn't blame him for his anger at their continuing attempts to try and trick him into being friends with them. However, the main point is that thanks to Ginny and Hermione, Harry was a better person, but that still didn't mean that he wouldn't let Snape or Dumbledore walk over him or rape his mind just because they were in positions of 'authority'. Seriously, if people knew that the Headmaster and Potions Master routinely used Legilimency on students illegally, they would have had a one-way ticket to Azkaban years ago. Until then, Harry would continue to play their game, and also ruin it for them by throwing them out...hard.

Back to the present, Hermione came to a decision. She _did_ believe Harry, and she had seen proof of his suspicions in her own observations of Dumbledore. Now it all made sense, and she wasn't going to stand by and let someone try to use her best friend as nothing more than a weapon. He was Harry Potter! A person, not some tool of war! She would stand by Harry's side, no matter what.

"I believe you, Harry. I've noticed the Headmaster act strangely around you also, and this makes sense. Didn't you also say how he had left you at the Dursleys? He must've wanted you to grow up unloved so that you'd consider Hogwarts and Dumbledore salvation and a hero to you respectively. Once he saw that you were confident, not at all the shy boy he probably expected, he started to watch you closely in case you steer away from the 'correct' path in his eyes. I'll stand by you, Harry, as will Ginny once she gets here. You can count on that," Hermione said confidently, hoping that Harry would see her commitment.

Harry couldn't believe how this had gone. Hermione believe him! She really did! She didn't cast him aside and say that he was crazy! Instead, she even provided some of her own observations to back up his suspicions! Ginny was right, Hermione was smart, and would make a powerful ally with her intelligence and perception. This certainly put Harry's mind at ease, but for a split second, the child that should've existed appeared at Hermione's commitment as his friend, and she saw the small boy who longed for friendship and compassion. Hermione gave Harry a hug to comfort him in his thoughts. He stiffened, but she didn't break her hold on him. However, she didn't understand the significance of her actions at all. You see, Harry had never been hugged before in his life. Whether it was out of anger, spite, or fear, the Dursleys never hugged him, or showed him any compassion, yet here was Hermione, a friend he had only known for a year, and she was giving him more than his own 'relatives' ever did. Hesitantly, he put his arms around her, trying his best to mimic her actions. To her though, it didn't matter that his hug was awkward, it was the fact that he was hugging her at all and letting her see a side to him that he never showed in public, a side that only she, and probably Ginny, would ever see. This was the _real_ Harry Potter. The boy who should've existed from the beginning was finally coming out. The darkness in his heart was slowly being eaten away by Ginny's love (albeit unknown to Harry at this time), Hermione's compassion, and both girls' friendships.


	10. Chapter 10: The Philosopher's Stone

**Author's note: Well, here's the Harry VS Quirrell/Voldemort chapter. There will be another Philosopher's Stone chapter before I go onto Chamber of Secrets, just to let you know. Anyway, on with the story...**

Chapter 10: The Philosopher's Stone

A few days have passed since the Mirror of Erised event and Harry has noticed some very peculiar things regarding three of the professors. Dumbledore and Snape seem to always be talking at the staff table, with Dumbledore being more erratic and, what Harry could almost say, expectant than usual, as if he was waiting for something to happen. Snape seemed to be in on this as well, being equally as expecting. The man had even stopped trying to catch Harry out in lessons, merely trying to breach his mental shields as if he didn't want to do anything that might ruin any plans concerning Harry. Harry also noticed that Quirrell seemed to be skittish, and looking as though he didn't want to be at the staff table, or in the school for that matter, looking around for a possible exit maybe. Something was definitely wrong, and Harry didn't like it one bit.

When Harry told Hermione, and wrote to Ginny, about his concerns, the two girls agreed that something big was going to happen towards the end of this year, and it wasn't going to be good. Harry had also noticed that Snape seemed to be following Quirrell around a lot more since Halloween, as if the man suspected the stuttering professor of doing something wrong. Harry too had wondered how Quirrell knew about the troll, only for him to have been lying about it true location. Whether it was that when Quirrell had seen the troll, it was in the dungeon and had escaped, or whether he was deliberately lying was up for debate in Harry's mind, but he still kept a close eye on the professor. Strangely, his scar always began to burn whenever he looked at Quirrell recently. He wondered whether it could be a sign that maybe Quirrell was up to something dangerous.

Harry had told Hermione one day that they needed to check on the Stone to see how well guarded it was, plus if Voldemort tried to get it, they might be able to stop him, as he didn't really trust Dumbledore with defending anything well. All it took was an insider's help, and Voldemort would be in, and if the two students could get in without trouble, then the defences stood no chance against the self-proclaimed Dark Lord.

That day, however, came sooner than expected. After Defence Against the Dark Arts, the last lesson of the day, Harry and Hermione noticed that Quirrell almost ran out of the classroom. The professor had been jumpy all lesson and stuttered even more than usual as if he was nervous about something. Harry and Hermione decided to follow him and were surprised when he headed in the direction of the third floor corridor...towards Fluffy and the trapdoor. Harry put on the invisibility cloak, that he had received for Christmas from an unknown sender who said that Harry's father had left him the cloak, over himself and Hermione to hide themselves from Quirrell as they continued to follow him into Fluffy's room. Quirrell conjured a harp and charmed it to play, sending Fluffy to sleep before he could attack the intruder. Quirrell then moved Fluffy's paw off of the trapdoor with a levitating charm and opened the door before jumping down, dropping the paw back onto the door.

Harry and Hermione quickly repeated what Quirrell had done with the paw and trapdoor before following after him. When they landed on the surface below, they couldn't see him anywhere, so he must've gone on further in the time it took them to come down. Just then, the ground began to wriggle around and grab them. They realised, thanks to Herbology lessons, that what they had landed on was a Devil's Snare. Instantly, they relaxed their bodies, pretending to be dead, which made the Devil's Snare drop them down to the stone floor below unharmed.

"Well, that was certainly odd. Having defences that can be fooled so easily is definitely not something you'd use to protect something as precious as the Philosopher's Stone. What was Dumbledore thinking when he did this?" Harry commented.

"You're right, Quirrell got through fine, and so have we, and we're only first years! Anyone who listened in Herbology would've got past the Devil's Snare...It's almost like Dumbledore made these defences too easy to get through...like he wanted them to be passed..." Hermione stated, obviously confused at such poor defences.

Yes, like Dumbledore wanted the defences to be passed...by _someone_, and Harry had a feeling that that 'someone' was _him_. This must be what Dumbledore had been expecting. This was the 'test' to see whether Harry would do what was expected of him. This made him slightly sick to his stomach to know that he was unwittingly Dumbledore's pawn in this little game of his. The problem here was that if Harry refused to be a pawn, he'd allow Quirrell to possible retrieve the Stone and use it badly, like giving it to Voldemort, or trying to become another Dark Lord. That was something he could never allow to happen. Regardless of the circumstances, he wouldn't allow Dumbledore, or Quirrell, or anyone else to change his judgement on this. He was going to stop this madness, once and for all, and not for Dumbledore's sake. Dumbledore would definitely be in for a surprise if he saw what Harry would do, as he certainly wasn't going to play by the rules.

Harry and Hermione entered the next room to see flying keys everywhere and a hovering broom. Hermione went over to the door and tried to open it. It was locked.

"Alohamora!" Hermione said, but the door still wouldn't budge. They needed to find the key to the door.

"We need to find an old, battered one. One that's like the door..." Harry adopted a pensive expression as he looked up at the keys. One soon caught his eye, "There! The one with the broken wing has to be the one!"

"But how do we get it?" Hermione asked, adopting a pensive look of her own.

Harry then remembered the broom and went over to it. He had to catch the key. It was a good job that he was the Gryffindor Seeker...And once again, Harry realised that these defences were tests for him. He was a Seeker, so Dumbledore made a defence where you had to catch something as if you were a Seeker going after the Golden Snitch. Hermione saw Harry's hesitation and figured out his concerns. She walked over to him a placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I know what you're thinking, Harry, but you can't let that meddlesome fool dictate your actions. We've got only one chance to stop Quirrell from getting the Stone. For crying out loud, if he could catch the key on that broomstick, so can you. You're the youngest Quidditch player in the century, so prove why you were picked above people older than you," Hermione said firmly.

Harry realised that Hermione was right, so he mounted the broom and took off. The other keys started to charge after him as he pursued the correct key, obviously trying to distract him. However, being who his was, Harry wouldn't allow himself to be distracted and eventually caught up with the correct key, grabbing it when his free hand. He dived down and threw the key to Hermione while he lured the other keys away from her, giving her time to open the next door. Once he opened the door, she called for Harry to follow her, which he did, speeding through the door just as Hermione locked the door, leaving the other keys to charge straight into it.

The room they were in now was quite dark, but as they walked forward, fire lights came on, revealing a chessboard. After watching Ron as Harry tried to figure out the boy's motives and plans, he noticed how much the red-haired boy played Wizard's Chess. It was obvious that Dumbledore had expected Harry and Ron to become friends, as it would explain why a chessboard was the next challenge. Harry assumed that they were expected to play it, but since he and Hermione were on such a tight schedule, he decided to skip this. The duo walked forward, but were stopped by the opposing white pawns' swords blocking the exit.

"Confringo!" Harry bellowed, blowing the swords out of the pawns' hands, leaving a clear path to the exit.

Harry lead Hermione forward and out of the chess room, into a room full of potions. In the middle of the room, a desk was situated with a piece of parchment on the top of it. Harry walked forward and picked the parchment up. He began to read the note left on it. It seemed as though he had to pick a specific potion to get through to the next area. As he looked forward, he saw the black and purple fires that the note described as being the entrance to the final chamber, and only one potion would allow only one person to cross, whereas the others would either do nothing, send you back to the start, a.k.a. the third floor corridor, or kill you. Harry definitely wanted the one that would allow him to pass, but he also hoped that Hermione would get one that would return her back to the third floor corridor and out of harm's way.

"The note says that only one potion can take only one person through. Hermione, I have to do this. It's me who's being tested and involved in this, not you. You've got to go back and get help. Ask McGonagall when you return. Promise me that. I'm not letting you get hurt because of following me," Harry told Hermione, hoping that she would understand.

"While I'm not happy with leaving you to fight this alone, the note clearly states that only one can go on...It's just...Please be careful, Harry. You're my best friend, and I'd be lost here without you and I'm sure that Ginny would feel the same way. You're a brilliant wizard, but remember not to get too overconfident and open yourself up for an attack. Promise me that too," Hermione said, tears threatening to leak out of her eyes as they watered at the thought of losing her best and only friend.

"I promise Hermione. I'll be fine. There's too much I've still got left to do in my life to just give it away. Now then...the one that will let me pass is either the giant-sized bottle, the dwarf-sized bottle, or the one at the end if my deductions are correct...I wonder..." Harry said thoughtfully, scratching the side of his head.

Just then, Harry caught a smell of the giant and it smelt just like how nettle win was meant to smell like, according to the textbooks, so he decided to go for the dwarf-sized bottle and drank it. Well, he wasn't dead, that was a good thing. He walked towards the black fire and found himself to be passing through the flames unharmed.

"It worked! Alright, Hermione! The far right bottle should be the one to take you back through the purple fire! Remember to get McGonagall! It's time that I ended this! I'll see you soon!" Harry shouted as he passed through the black fire.

"OK, Harry! Good luck! And be careful in there!" Hermione yelled back just as she saw Harry disappear.

Hermione took the far right bottle and drank it before heading through the purple fire to find herself back in the third floor corridor. Immediately, she went in search for Professor McGonagall, just as Harry asked, hoping that she wouldn't be too late to help him.

Harry entered the final chamber to see Quirrell in front of...the Mirror of Erised? So this is where it's 'new home' was. Somehow, Harry has a weird feeling that the Mirror had something to do with getting the Stone. Not that he'd tell Quirrell that though. As Harry continued to walk down the stairs, he heard Quirrell talking to someone, but there was only him and Harry here, wasn't there?

"Master...I'm here...But where's the Stone? How do I get it?" Quirrell asked to apparently no-one.

"When Potter arrives, use him! He will be able to get it, then I'll convince him to give us the Stone by offering to return his parents to life...Not that it's even possible though...Hahahahahaha!" a disembodied voice said, appearing to come from the back of Quirrell's head?

"How are you so sure that he'll come? It's obvious that he isn't going to act according to Dumbledore's plan, so why should he come here?" Quirrell asked, worry etched in his voice.

"Try watching how you've been acting in the past, and seeing you come down here to get the Stone, Quirrell," Harry said, revealing his presence at last.

"Potter! How did you-?!" Quirrell spluttered, not believing that Harry was actually there.

"I just said that I followed you down here. You really aren't all that smart, are you 'Professor'? By the way, who's your crazy 'Master'? He sounds like he's got a sore throat. Been screaming and shouting too much in annoyance?" Harry commented mockingly. He knew that it would strike a nerve with this 'Master' to make him reveal himself, and Harry wanted to know who he was fighting against.

"How dare you mock me, boy! You'll see the error of your ways soon enough! Let me speak with him, Quirrell!" the 'Master' bellowed in anger.

"Are you sure that you're strong enough, Master?" Quirrell questioned.

"I have strength enough for this, fool!" the 'Master' replied as Quirrell took his turban off, revealing a deformed face on the back of Quirrell's head...The face of Voldemort...

"Voldemort...I should've known that you'd be behind all of this," Harry said, folding his arms as he thought about his plan of action.

"Harry Potter...We meet again...This is what I've been forced to do to survive after you stopped me 10 years ago. To live off another...a mere parasite!" Voldemort said with distaste at the last word. He didn't like having to depend on another person.

"So what? Do you think that the Stone will make you...normal...again?" Harry asked inquisitively, but not really sure of the word to describe Voldemort's previous form. He was a monster, so he would definitely never be able to say that he was ever human, that's for sure.

"Oh, I know it can. I will finally have a body of my own...and you're going to help me, whether you like it or not," Voldemort answered triumphantly.

Harry thought back to the fact that the Mirror of Erised was in the room. Why would the Mirror be moved here? Unless...Harry then decided to play along with Voldemort's game. If Voldemort thought that Harry could get the Stone, then he would get it, but keep it well away from the madman's grasp. He too could play this game of wits. He walked up to the Mirror and looked into it.

Harry saw the present Ginny Weasley standing next to where his reflection was, smiling at him. She reached into her pocket and discreetly placed a red object into his own pocket. Strangely, he felt a weight in the pocket where Mirror Ginny had dropped the object into. He had received the Stone.

"What is it?! What do you see, boy! Tell us!" Quirrell demanded, trying to sound like he had authority over Harry, but instead, the man sounded frightened, probably by Voldemort's anger.

"I'm seeing a good friend giving me support. She doesn't want me to fail," Harry grinned. This wasn't a lie. Ginny is a friend, and her Mirror version had just given him support by giving him the Stone. And he wouldn't fail her, no way.

"You're not lying, but I sense that there's something that you're not telling us, Potter. Where is the Stone?!" Voldemort said rather testily, obviously getting irritated at not having the Stone yet.

"Do you really expect me to tell you where it is if I knew? The man who killed my parents? You must be joking! What do you take me for, a fool? Like I'm going to let you return properly. You deserve this! You're nothing but a shell of your former self because of your own mistakes! No criminal will ever escape judgement, and soon, your time will come!" Harry bellowed, proudly standing up to this monster of a man.

"Why you little! Kill him and take the Stone from him! I know he has it! Make him pay for mocking me!" Voldemort ordered Quirrell, losing his patience completely now.

Quirrell lunged at Harry, but his training paid off as he side-stepped the man, causing him to fall over due to his own momentum carrying him forward.

"You idiot! Get the Stone, damn it!" Voldemort yelled, getting more frustrated by the minute.

"Harry brought out his bō and faced Quirrell, who was starting to rise. With a swift strike, Harry knocked the man back to the floor. Quirrell grabbed Harry's arm, and just as he was about to strike the man's arm away, Harry saw Quirrell's hand begin to burn upon contact with his skin. Quirrell's hand completely disintegrated, just from touching Harry! That gave him an idea. Harry put his bō away and lunged at Quirrell, rapidly punching the man's face. Eventually, the onslaught proved to be too much for the man as his face became burnt and bloodied from Harry's punches, causing Quirrell's head, and Voldemort's face, to crumble into dust, ending the life of the evil professor.

Harry looked upon his fallen foe and sighed in relief that his first true battle was over with no injuries. Just as he thought that, a mist appeared out of the dust, forming what looked like Voldemort's face! The evil spirit rushed at Harry, but he side-stepped away, letting the spirit to fly out of the room, and leaving Harry all alone.

Harry looked back at the Mirror and saw Mirror Ginny smiling at him proudly, and he couldn't help but smile back. He could still feel the Stone in his pocket to, and wondered what to do with it. He took it out and looked at it as he thought of ideas. He definitely couldn't give it to Dumbledore, so he guessed that he better keep it hidden away for now. Just as he put the Stone away, he saw Hermione run in with McGonagall. They had made it.

"Potter! Thank goodness that you're safe! What possessed you to come down here in the first place?! You could've been killed!" McGonagall demanded angrily.

"Me and Hermione saw Quirrell come down here. He had been acting strange for months, and I didn't trust him, so we followed after him. It's a good job too, because he was trying to get the Stone for Voldemort to return. I've stopped him though, so the crisis is over, and the Stone was destroyed in the conflict," Harry lied. He didn't want to lie to his Head of House, but he knew that she'd relay the information straight to Dumbledore, and he wanted to make sure that he didn't ask about the Stone. Making the old fool believe it to be destroyed would make life a whole lot easier.

"Well, I commend you for protecting the school then, if that's true-" McGonagall tried to say, but she was cut off by Hermione.

"It is true, Professor. Harry would never lie about something this important, and neither would I. I'll back him up if needs be," Hermione stated firmly, earning a smile of gratitude from Harry.

"Very well. Now then, let's get you two to the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomfrey will want to check you over before she lets you run free," McGonagall said.

Harry and Hermione followed after McGonagall as she lead them out of the chambers. Harry felt immensely relieved, but he had a feeling that the events this year would only be the tip of the iceberg. More was to come, and he, Hermione, and Ginny, would need to be ready for when the next problem arose.


	11. Chapter 11: The First Year Ends

**Author's note: The first year ends, and Harry's realises some of the extents to which Dumbledore will go to get his own way. I hope that I explain the whole 'what happened to the Stone?' questions. As of this point, Harry's just going to keep it hidden and won't be using it unless I decide otherwise later on. Another note is that with Shade, when I came up with the idea for his character, I wanted him to become a magical being and when I thought of what struck me as a powerful, magical-like, cat-like creature, a Pokémon sprung to mind, a.k.a. Umbreon, one of my favourite Pokémon. No, this won't be an actual Harry Potter/Pokémon crossover thing, Shade will have magical powers, but it won't be actual Pokémon moves, i.e. Harry won't say in training or in battle; "Shade use Dark Pulse!", Shade will just attack with dark and light type moves reminiscent of such Pokémon moves. If you don't like Pokémon or Umbreon, I'm not changing this idea I had this idea originally at the creation of the character, so please don't go all hating or flaming. If you don't like it, don't read this chapter as I won't specifically mention anymore Pokémon and Umbreon related stuff again. I keep forgetting this, but Harry Potter isn't owned by me, J. owns it, I only altered the universe and made an alternate plot. Umbreon is owned by Nintendo and Game Freak. After this chapter, there will be one more before the Philosopher's Stone year ends officially and I start on Chamber of Secrets year chapters. Now then, on with the story...**

Chapter 11: The First Year Ends

The next morning, Harry got up early and inspected his pocket in his trousers from yesterday. He took out the Philosopher's Stone and swirled it around in his hand, examining it's texture, weight, and other characteristics. Harry opened his trunk and placed the Stone inside a hidden compartment before locking the trunk up again. No-one but Harry would be able to open the locking charm on his trunk as it was keyed to his magical signature, no-one else's. The Stone was safe from anyone's clutches, and Harry would keep it that way. If it fell into Voldemort's, Dumbledore's, or anybody's hands who had the possibility of using it for nefarious purposes...well, Harry didn't want to think about the possibility.

He got showered and dressed before anyone else and decided to spend someone quality time in the common room with his familiars. He called for Hedwig, who heard her master's call via the familiar bond despite being in the Owlery, and let Shade out of his cage to follow Harry downstairs. Hedwig arrived after a minute and entered through the window Harry had opened for her before perching on his shoulder, watching Shade roam around the common room.

Harry had noticed some very odd, but discreet, changes in Shade. He had grown larger, and while that alone wasn't really that big of a deal, the other changes that corresponded with the increased size was. Harry could feel more magical energy surrounding Shade as he grew, which made Harry wonder whether the familiar bond was passing over some of Harry's abilities, or whether Shade himself was a magical cat. He also had developed strange yellow markings that shone bright under the moonlight, making it seem as though the markings themselves carried a magical property, or could channel his magical energy. His ears and tail grew longer, and his body became sleeker and more defined. He still had his red cat eyes, but even they seemed to change and grow slightly darker, turning into a blood red colour, as he grew in size. Overall, Harry was quite proud of Shade's change, but he made a note to see what Shade's newfound magical energy could do.

After a while, everyone started to come downstairs, so Harry quickly sent Hedwig off to the Owlery and gestured for Shade to follow him, which the black cat did obediently. Harry found Hermione and they both went down to the Great Hall together with Shade following after them, keeping a close watch on the people walking by in case he detected any threats. Harry and Hermione took their seats and Shade took his normal spot around Harry's seat, watching for signs of anything strange. It was then that Dumbledore came over to Harry personally, causing Shade to hiss at the old man, knowing what the Headmaster's evil plans were concerning his master.

"Ah, Harry, my boy. I would like to see you in my office after breakfast. We have much to discuss about yesterday's events. Plus, we need to talk about your pet situation. I'll see you then, my boy. Oh, and I do enjoy a Sherbet Lemon now and again..." Dumbledore said before walking back to his seat at the staff table.

Harry knew that the last sentence was probably a password for his office, or for something leading to his office, and he was annoyed at Dumbledore for his demands. Oh he understood the 'pet situation' talk as he had been expecting it, but what gave Dumbledore the right to know everything that had happened? He didn't even seem at all worried or concerned over the events with the Philosopher's Stone and Quirrell/Voldemort. In fact, he seemed almost pleased, probably because he thought that Harry was finally going down the 'correct' path.

'Newsflash, Dumbledore; I'm no-one's tool, especially not yours! I'll follow my own path!' Harry thought.

After breakfast, Harry told Hermione to head off without him, despite her insistence on going with him in case Dumbledore tried anything, and went in the direction of where Dumbledore's office was, with Shade followed close behind him. After walking up to the top of the grand staircase, Harry found a golden griffin statue that he assumed was the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"Sherbet Lemon!" Harry recited as he watched as the statue started to spin and move upwards, revealing a set of spiral stairs going up to Dumbledore's office.

Harry and Shade jumped onto the staircase as it spiralled up until they reached a door. Harry opened it and entered, followed closely by Shade. Inside were glass cabinets filled with loads of strange items, two staircases leading to another floor that were surrounded by books, and a desk with elaborate instruments and pieces of parchment laid on it. The Sorting Hat was perched on the top of one of the bookshelves, and a red bird, that Harry recognised as a phoenix, was sleeping on its perch next to the desk. Just then, Dumbledore came down one of the staircases and smiled at Harry. Unfortunately for Dumbledore, Harry could easily tell that it was forced as it didn't reach the Headmaster's eyes.

"Ah, Harry. You're here sooner than I expected. Well, I believe we should get down to business, don't you? Please sit down. Would you like a cup of tea?" Dumbledore said almost too politely for Harry's liking.

"No thank you, sir. Now, what exactly do you want?" Harry said flatly. He wasn't really in the mood for games.

"Well, first of all, we'll start with the fact that you have two pets. You should only actually have one, so next year, you'll have to leave one at home. I would suggest your cat as your owl will be of better use for you here," Dumbledore explained, saying it as though it was the law and couldn't be contested.

Shade hissed dangerously at Dumbledore at the implication of him being worthless, but a quick glance from Harry told him otherwise, and that Dumbledore wouldn't get away with his comment.

"I'd be more careful with what you say. Shade didn't like your comment, so I suggest that you apologise now," Harry stated, grinning at the flabbergasted look on Dumbledore's face.

"Apologise?! But it's just a cat! He can't understand me, nor care about what I said!" Dumbledore said angrily.

"That's the thing, Headmaster, Shade isn't just a cat. _He_ is very powerful, and I've noticed a magical aura of energy begin to surround him as he's been growing. I'm sure that you should be able to feel his power too. As for leaving him at the Dursleys, think again. Nowhere did it say that having more than one pet was not allowed, and even if it was, you couldn't do anything about it as Shade and Hedwig, my owl, are my familiars. They bonded to me as soon as I met them. The storekeeper was the one to tell me this as it also turns out that they would attack any previous interested buyers, probably because they were waiting for me to buy them. So no, I won't be leaving Shade behind, and they will both come with me each year," Harry explained, relishing in watching Dumbledore's face change to a shocked and worried expression.

"I-I'm sorry for any inconveniences, my boy. That wasn't my intention. And I'm...sorry...Shade..." Dumbledore said. It was definitely a struggle for him to apologise to what he deemed to be a mere animal, but Harry enjoyed the old fool paying for his ignorance.

"That's fine, Headmaster. Now that that's sorted, what else do you want from me today?" Harry asked, knowing full well what the Headmaster wanted, but played dumb to keep his cover up.

"Harry, we must discuss what happened down in the underground chambers with you and Quirrell. I need to know what happened, especially to the Stone as you probably know how much of an important object it is," Dumbledore demanded.

Harry decided to give some information to keep Dumbledore happy, otherwise he might get suspicious, and that wouldn't help Harry's cause in the slightest.

"Very well, me and Hermione had seen Quirrell running off towards the third floor corridor. We followed after him and completed the challenges by following his steps before Hermione left to get help, and I went to stop Quirrell. When I caught him in front of the Mirror of Erised, he revealed that Voldemort was living on the back of his head. Long story short, I somehow got the Stone, so Quirrell tried to kill me and get it off of me. I don't know how, but when I touched Quirrell, he burnt to a crisp and Voldemort's spirit flew away. It wasn't until after I checked on the Stone that I found that it had been destroyed in the conflict. I hope that isn't too big of a problem, especially for Mr. Flamel," Harry explained, missing out that; he and Hermione figured out how to complete, or skip, the challenges themselves to keep his power hidden; he had fought Quirrell off with his bō; and that he had found out that it was his mother's sacrifice that gave him protective shield and power against Voldemort from a book he had read in the library when he got curious.

"It's not a big problem, Harry. I'm just glad that Voldemort didn't get his hands on it. As to how you killed Quirrell, do you know why he couldn't bear to touch you?" Dumbledore said, although there was a hint of anger in his eyes over hearing of the Stone's destruction.

"I don't know, sir. Why couldn't he touch me then?" Harry said, playing dumb again.

"It was because of your mother. When she sacrificed herself to save you, she created the ultimate protection for you against dark forces like Voldemort. That kind of sacrifice leaves a mark that lives within your very skin...and that is love, Harry. Love. And that is why no dark forces can touch you; because love counteracts darkness," Dumbledore explained, smiling his fake grandfather smile again.

"Thank you for explaining that, sir. Is there anything else?" Harry asked, trying not to let his impatience come up to the surface.

"No, my dear boy. You go to your friends now. I'm sure that Miss Granger, and also Mr. Weasley, are worried about you. He'd be a good friend to you, I think. He comes from a good family and could teach you a bit more about our world," Dumbledore suggested.

"I'll think about that, Headmaster. Goodbye," Harry said flatly, knowing full well that he had already thought about it, and Ron Weasley was certainly not friend material.

Harry called for Shade to follow him, and after one last glance and hiss at Dumbledore, the black cat walked up to his master and followed Harry as he exited the office.

A few days passed since the Philosopher's Stone event and Harry has relaxed a lot since then. Dumbledore has left him alone somewhat, and Snape had even lessened his mental attacks. Ron, however, was still his same annoying self, trying to befriend Harry and trying to annoy Hermione in an attempt to make her leave "us guys", as he called him and Harry, in peace. Needless to say, Harry was never impressed by the red-haired boy's attitude and always went after Hermione if Ron was exceedingly rude to her, comforting her when she needed it or just merely staying with her to provide the support of his presence, which somehow was enough to calm her down much to Harry confusion. He was never any good with emotions or feelings, so he didn't understand how his mere presence could help Hermione sometimes.

Soon, the final day of Harry's first year at Hogwarts came, and it was time to announce the winners of the House Cup. Dumbledore stood up and began to read out the house point totals.

"Now, it's time to reveal the winners of the House Cup. In fourth place, with 465 points is Hufflepuff!" Dumbledore announced, getting a short, quiet applause for Hufflepuff in return before he continued.

"In third place, with 478 points is Ravenclaw!"

This elicited another louder applause.

"And in joint first place, with 539 points is Gryffindor and Slytherin!"

This, however, caused mass chaos. All of the Gryffindors and Slytherins, minus Harry and Hermione, had got up and had started to shout abuse at the staff and students of their rival house, not believing that they could have fairly got the same number of points without some cheating being involved on both sides. Just before a fight could arise, Dumbledore stepped in.

"Silence! Everyone sit down! Now, well done to both Gryffindor and Slytherin, but first, I have some last minute points to award, " Dumbledore announced, causing everyone to become silent.

Harry, however, was merely annoyed. He knew exactly what was coming up, and he knew why it was. Another part of Dumbledore's plan to try and make Harry think that the Headmaster was a great man that would always be on his side and would be there to help him out. Unfortunately for Dumbledore, Harry wasn't falling for it one bit.

"To Miss Hermione Granger. For a cool use of logic and intellect when in stressful and dangerous situations, I award Gryffindor house 50 points!" Dumbledore said, causing the Gryffindor house to cheer for Hermione, knowing that it meant that they had won the Cup.

"And to Mr. Harry Potter. For pure love, outstanding courage, and masterful magic, I award Gryffindor house 60 points!"

This produced another loud cheer from Gryffindor house, but for Harry this time. Harry, however, knew the truth about this game of Dumbledore's and wasn't too pleased that Dumbledore was trying to manipulate even the House Cup event to suit his own agenda. Why wait this long to put house points on for Harry and Hermione when he should've done this earlier? And why not just allow history to be made by having the first ever joint winners of the House Cup in an attempt to join some houses together. To show that no house is truly better than another and that everyone is equal? Harry guessed that these questions would never be answered.

"Now, according to my calculations, I believe that a change of decoration is in order!" Dumbledore announced as he waved his hands, changing the banner colours to red and gold, the colours of Gryffindor house, "Gryffindor wins the House Cup!"

All of the Gryffindor students got up and cheered in victory, while the Slytherin students merely threw temper tantrums and muttered angry words under their breaths at being defeated by Gryffindor house for the first time in many years. Harry clapped for appearance sakes, and Hermione quickly noticed this. A glance and mime from Harry told her that he would explain what was up later when they were alone, so she accepted this, wondering herself about the same questions that Harry had wondered about just a few minutes ago.

After the Cup was handed to the Gryffindor prefects, the ceremony finished and all of the students were sent to the Hogwarts Express to go home. Harry took Hedwig and Shade with him instead of leaving them with the other animals and trunks and found an empty compartment. Hermione soon joined him and he knew what was coming next.

"Why were you so strange during the ceremony. You didn't seem to cheer or look happy about winning the House Cup at all. What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione said, concerned for her friend.

"Didn't you think that it was odd that Dumbledore left giving us points until the last minute. And the praising speeches? It sounded too much like he was trying to manipulate us and make us trust him more by showing his 'support' and 'favouritism' towards us," Harry stated, voicing the thoughts that had gone through both of their heads.

"Come to think of it, I thought that same thing. He had days to update the point scores, yet he did it then. I think you're right there, but something else is bothering you, isn't there?" Hermione agreed.

"Yes, it's just made me realise just how much Dumbledore to willing to manipulate to get me under his control. He manipulated the House Cup ceremony to try and make us like him and ruined what could have been a vital moment in history to destroy all of this stupid house rivalry by showing that no house is truly better. We were tied with Slytherin, something that has never happened before, and neither has tying in general really, and what Dumbledore did has probably set back the possibility of inter-house truces occurring for years as the Slytherins hate us even more now for taking the House Cup away from them when they should've rightfully had half of it, if you will. That man just really annoys me sometimes!" Harry explained, sighing in annoyance and frustration.

"I understand, Harry, and I agree with you. This could've been a turning point to stop all the prejudice towards other houses too, but it'll just get worse now...I hate that man for doing this! He only cares about his own ideals! And to think I used to respect and look up to him! I makes me sick!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Hey, at least you know the truth now. Many people here still think that he's a great wizard who has a heart of gold. It'll be our job in the future to reveal his true self to the world, but for now, we can only wait and train for that inevitable day. It also doesn't hurt to play our own game by luring him into a false belief that his plans are actually working either..." Harry said, trailing his last comment out as he grinned at the thought of when Dumbledore finally realised his mistaken beliefs and found out that he had been played.

Harry and Hermione spent the rest of the journey talking about their plans for the summer before they had to get off the train and go to meet their families after getting the trunks.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye..." Hermione said, trailing off as tears started to build up in her eyes.

"Don't think like that Hermione. I'll write to you, and since you don't have an owl, you can use Hedwig to send letters to me. She's wait for you to finish and tie your letter on her leg before leaving. She's a smart girl," Harry said comfortingly, earning a hoot of approval from Hedwig.

"Thank you, Harry. I'm so glad that I have you as my best friend. You're the best friend a girl could ever have," Hermione praised before hugging Harry tightly.

Harry hugged Hermione back before letting her go as she saw her parents coming. He promised her that he'd write to her again before she ran off to meet her parents and tell them everything about the school year, her studies, and her black-haired, green-eyed best friend. Harry, however, was quickly jilted from his happy mood as he saw the people he really wished not to see, minus one of them. He saw the Weasley family coming towards him with fake smiles on their faces, minus Ginny who had an apologising expression on her face. He really didn't want to have to face them now, but he guessed that he didn't have a choice in the matter, so he steeled himself for the confrontation that was guaranteed to occur as soon as they got to him.


	12. Chapter 12: A Weasley Confrontation

**Author's notes: This is a shorter chapter than usual as it's more of a singular event chapter and a round off of the Philosopher's Stone before I go onto the Chamber of Secrets. Anyway, I don't own Harry Potter, J. does. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the next chapter of the story...**

Chapter 12: A Weasley Confrontation

Harry faked a smile as the Weasley family finally came up to him, but he gave Ginny a proper smile, which she noticed, but not the others, fortunately.

"Hello Harry, dear. I'm Molly Weasley, and this is my family. You've already met my daughter and Ron. I bet you got on tremendously. How was your year, dear?" Molly said, faking a motherly smile.

"I got on very well with Ginny, actually. As for my year, it was alright. I liked the lessons, but I wasn't too pleased with how some people behaved. Add the fact that Quirrell and Voldemort tried to kill me, and it wasn't an overly great year. Thank you for asking though," Harry said politely, emphasising Ginny's name as he wasn't too happy that Molly had said Ron's name, but not Ginny's, just calling her; 'her daughter'.

"I'm just glad to hear that you're alright. Ron was worried about you and wrote to us about everything. You shouldn't have needed to do that. You're far too young to be having to deal with such things," Molly said, faking worry, but also cringing at Harry's use of Voldemort's name. Harry could also see how she was always trying to make Ron sound so righteous. It seemed as though they were all trying to get him to befriend Ron and learn his secrets. Too bad that he wasn't stupid and saw right through them.

"I didn't see anyone else trying to do anything to stop Quirrell and Voldemort. If it wasn't for me and Hermione, Voldemort could've returned this year. I did what was necessary, Mrs. Weasley." Harry said firmly, folding his arms in annoyance before continuing, "And I've not been 'young' for a while, trust me. You have to grow up quickly when a self-proclaimed Dark Lord is trying to kill you and you have to deal with my so-called 'relatives'."

"You could've gone to Professor Dumbledore. He would've been able to sort everything out without anyone getting hurt," Molly said, getting slightly angry at Harry's total dismissal of her comments.

"The only people who got hurt were evil and deserved to die. Quirrell would've doomed the world if he had given Voldemort the Stone, and Voldemort has escaped in his spirit form once again. I know what you're thinking, but those sort of people can't be talked out of doing evil, even by Dumbledore. I don't give second chances, and neither should anyone else. People who kill don't care about humanity. They're monsters! The sooner the rest of the world realises this, the better. Less people will be killed if we take proper action now rather than later," Harry explained, delighting in Molly's reddening face. She was about to blow, and he knew it was because she knew that he was right, regardless of her own views or the great Dumbledore's views.

"You still should've got a professor to handle it! They have more experience in such matters than a mere first year!" the pompous Percy Weasley added angrily, obviously annoyed that Harry could dismiss the help of an 'esteemed' person like Dumbledore.

"Yet it was me that stopped Voldemort, not a professor! Neither was it a professor that noticed how suspicious Quirrell had been acting, but me! Just because someone might be older, doesn't mean that they are any wiser or perceptive, Percy! It's how you use your brain that counts, not how much is possibly in there! And trust me, there's some things that none of our professors know but others, even the students know about, so don't go preaching about things that you don't understand!" Harry exclaimed, shocking the entire Weasley family, minus Ginny, with his statements. They knew that he was true though, and the fact that he knew as such was what scared them. Harry seemed to know a lot more than what he let on.

"You shouldn't disrespect your professors like that, Harry! They know what they're talking about! That's why they're at Hogwarts teaching you! Percy is right, and I think that you should apologise for letting your temper get the better of you! It's not good for being social to your friends if all you do is shout at them!" Molly chastised, thinking that it would be enough to quiet Harry down and show him his place in respecting his elders.

"Respect is earned, Mrs. Weasley, not given on a silver platter. There's only a few professors that I know that have earned such respect. Those are Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout. Dumbledore should've figured out what was wrong with Quirrell from the start of the year, Snape is a biased arse, and Quirrell was in league with Voldemort. Also, you're not my mother, so stop acting like it! I will not be told what to do by someone who can't see what's in front of them and blindly follows her so-called 'superior elders'! Not all elders are 'superior'! In fact, there shouldn't even be any 'superiors'! All it leads to is prejudice and blood! Respect has to be earned by your mind and your actions, not by your age, skills, or anything else, just your mind and your actions!" Harry bellowed, growing tired of Molly's blindness to everything around her. She was terribly old-fashioned and blindly followed people like Dumbledore just because he did some 'great things'. If people knew what Dumbledore's 'great plan' was now, he wouldn't be held up so high in everyone's views.

The Weasleys, minus Ginny, were now completely flabbergasted by Harry's outburst. They didn't expect Harry to fight back so well. They had expected the boy to quickly deflate and apologise to Molly, putting him in his rightful place. He was supposed to be weak and feeble from being abused at the Dursleys, yet seeing him now showed just how badly things had gone. Dumbledore wouldn't be pleased if he found out that they weren't getting anywhere with Harry.

Ginny, however, was grinning at Harry. She was very proud that he had stood up to her mother and had succeeded in finally shutting her up for good. Molly had no retort to this as was shown in her shocked eyes. No-one had ever been able to do this in history, yet here was an 11 year old Harry Potter, and he hadn't backed down from Molly's bid for control. Ginny felt her heart flutter slightly as she felt the power radiating from Harry as he shouted at her mother. She realised then that she was slowly falling for the dark-haired, green-eyed boy, and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get home. It was nice to see you again, Ginny, and remember what I told you. Next school year, you'll be at Hogwarts for your first year. Hopefully your year won't be as crazy as mine. Goodbye," Harry said politely, faking the politeness to the Weasleys except to Ginny, who he gave a genuine smile to, which made her blush.

Harry quickly walked past the Weasley family towards where he could see his 'relatives' hiding away in a corner. Once he got to them, they all went to the car park, got into Vernon's car, then drove back to Privet Drive. When Harry entered Number 4 again, he felt an emptiness inside him. Come to think of it, he'd felt an emptiness ever since he left King's Cross Station after the confrontation with the Weasleys. What was this emptiness he was feeling? He just didn't know. As he watched the Dursleys walk in and begin to get on with the housework, ignoring him as usual in fear of him using magic on them or making them pay once more for abusing him in his childhood, he just knew that this would be a long summer, and to be honest, he couldn't wait to return to Hogwarts to see Hermione, and finally see Ginny in the flesh for more than a fleeting moment or just via her writing in letters. Yes sir, next school year was a year worth waiting for, despite Dumbledore, Snape, and the Weasley boys being annoying as hell, and as he packed his things away and went to sleep after the Dursleys had retired for the night, his thoughts were filled with the adventures that he, Hermione, and Ginny would have in the next school year.


	13. Chapter 13: Escape to the Burrow?

**Author's notes: Hey everyone. It's time for the first Chamber of Secrets chapter. It's not a particularly long chapter as it's more of an introduction to CoS than full plot yet, but don't worry, I'm getting to that in later chapters. I don't own Harry Potter, J. does. And now, on with the story...**

Chapter 13: Escape to the Burrow?

Harry had spent the summer holidays practicing the spells he had learnt in first year wandlessly, then wordlessly, perfecting the little details wherever he saw the need for improvement. Other than that though, he had been bored for the majority of the holidays. He got letters occasionally from Ginny, talking about how her family had been bombarding her with questions and insults, from her brothers, about her friendship with him. He apologised for the inconvenience, but she merely told him off, saying that it was worth it to be his friend, which made him happy.

Towards the end of the holidays, Harry went up to his room after having his dinner to find a strange-looking creature in his room. The creatures was jumping on his bed until it turned around to see him. The creature bowed lowly in respect.

"Harry Potter...Such an honour it is to see you, sir..." the creature said in awe of Harry.

"Umm, thanks? Umm, do you mind telling me who and what you are? Not to be rude or anything, but I think it would be better if I knew what your name and species was when I talk to you," Harry requested, still confused on what the creature was and why it was here.

"Of course, sir. My name is Dobby, sir. Dobby the house elf," Dobby said cheerfully.

"Umm, hello Dobby. Would you care to sit down and tell me why you're in my room, by any chance? I'm a little confused at why a house elf would be here," Harry asked.

"S-sit d-down? Sit down?!" Dobby exclaimed before he began to cry.

"I'm sorry, Dobby! I didn't mean to offend you!" Harry apologised, thankful that his 'relatives' had gone out for the day.

"Offend Dobby?! Never has Dobby been asked to sit down by a wizard...like an equal..." Dobby said in awe of Harry's request.

"What do you mean 'like an equal'? Are you not treated well by other wizards?" Harry asked, feeling his rage build up. He didn't like it when he saw or heard about people abusing others.

"Dobby is to follow the orders of his family, sir. The family Dobby serves, sir. If he doesn't do a good job, then Dobby is beaten in an attempt to teach him a lesson so that he doesn't make a mistake again," Dobby said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, making Harry grimace in disgust.

"No-one should be treated like that, you mustn't have a very nice 'family' then. Who exactly is your 'family'?" Harry asked, trying to keep his anger under control for Dobby's sake.

"I don't think that Dobby should say, sir. If they knew that Dobby was here to warn Harry Potter, they wouldn't be very happy with Dobby at all..." Dobby said, starting to panic slightly.

"Warn me? Warn me about what?" Harry asked, trying to change the conversation away from the morbid thoughts that Dobby was getting panicked over.

"Terrible things are about to happen at Hogwarts, sir. Harry Potter must not go back to school or he will be in grave danger. Harry Potter must stay home or he'll be killed. Dobby mustn't allow Harry Potter to be killed. Harry Potter is the last defence against the Dark Lord and his followers and mustn't be killed," Dobby explained forebodingly.

"Dobby, I was attacked by Voldemort last year, and I didn't come back with a scratch, which is more than what could be said about him and Quirrell. I won't allow myself to get killed when I have a score to settle with the murderer of my parents. Besides, Hogwarts IS my home now, and if I don't go, I won't see my friends," Harry explained, hoping to alleviate some of Dobby's fears.

"Friends who don't even write to Harry Potter?" Dobby said.

"Hold on a second, what friends who haven't been writing to me? My friends have been writing to me just fine as they use my owl. Who's letters have you been intercepting then?" Harry demanded, wanting to know just who was writing to him and why.

"Dobby thought that if Harry Potter thought that his friends didn't write to him, then he wouldn't go back to school, sir. But it seems as though Dobby failed..." Dobby said, shamefully.

"Give me the letters you intercepted now, Dobby. They might be important," Harry demanded again.

"Only if Harry Potter promises not to go back to school!" Dobby said firmly.

"I am going back, now give them here, Dobby!" Harry demanded one last time as his patience was running thin with Dobby now.

"No!" Dobby screamed before turning and running out of the door.

Harry gave chase and drew his hand, pointing it at Dobby. Time to try out one of the new every day-use spells he had learnt.

"Accio letters!" Harry bellowed as the letters that Dobby had stolen flew out of his cloth/rag/robe-like attire and into Harry's hand.

"I'm not powerless, Dobby, and don't do this again! I don't like thieves or other criminals!" Harry yelled, scaring the little house elf before he clicked his fingers and disappeared.

"Now then, let's see who would be writing to me..." Harry said to himself, curiously fondling the letters in his hands.

Harry turned them over and started to cycle through them, opening them and reading them all before throwing them away in annoyance at the content of them. They were all from Molly and Ron Weasley. Molly was apologising, but subtly trying to get him to do so as well in a reply by saying how good it was to have the correct social skills and behaviour in the wizarding world. Harry was definitely not going to reply or apologise to her when it was her continued attitude that was the problem, not his. As for Ron, he was still trying to befriend him and had now started to ask how he was, what he was doing, what his relatives were doing etcetera. Basically, the idiot was trying to get some inside information in the hopes of telling Dumbledore something that could be used against Harry. Well, he certainly wasn't going to tell that blinded fool anything, that's for sure. After a few hours of martial arts practise outside, Harry went up to bed to sleep. Strangely, he had a very odd feeling about tomorrow, and he wasn't sure whether it was a good feeling or a bad feeling.

Halfway through the night, Harry was woken by a loud banging against the side of the house..._His_ side. In fact, in was coming just outside of his bedroom window. He shot up and opened the curtains to see a flying Ford Anglia being driven by none other than Ron, Fred, and George Weasley. What the hell were they doing here?! Harry opened the window just as Ron opened his side's door.

"Not to be rude, but what are you doing here?" Harry asked, completely confused by this surprise.

"Rescuing you of course! Now go and get your trunk and pets! We're taking you to the Burrow away from this place!" Ron yelled impatiently, obviously wanting to get Harry out as quick as possible.

Rescuing? Why did he need rescuing? Then it clicked in Harry's head. It was another ploy to try and make him trust and befriend Dumbledore and the Weasleys by making him see them as his saviour from life at Privet Drive. Too bad that it wasn't going to work on him. Although, going to the Burrow would have its upsides. While he would have to put up with living with the Weasleys, he would be able to see Ginny again. That thought made him smile as he rushed off to get his trunk, freshly-packed a few weeks ago so that he wouldn't be running around at the last minute before going to school. He chucked his trunk into the car's boot before placing Hedwig and Shade's cage in carefully so as not to hurt them and jumping into the back seat of the car. As Harry and the Weasley boys flew away, the Dursleys still slept soundly, not knowing anything. After all, they were very heavy sleepers...

It took about 10 minutes to get to the Burrow, and after Molly found the group and berated the Weasley boys for taking the car, she prepared a meal as a welcoming meal for Harry coming to the Burrow for the first time of hopefully many visits. And then he saw a red blur bound down the stairs. There she was; his first and best friend, Ginny Weasley...in her nightgown...and he was completely stunned by her appearance.

"G-Ginny?" Harry asked, hardly believing that the attractive ('Wait, what?!' he thought) girl in front of him was the same sweet, innocent Ginny he knew.

"H-Harry?!" Ginny too asked, hardly believing that he was here in front of her. Then she followed his gaze, remembered what she was wearing, blushed, then ran upstairs to get changed...after squeaking in embarrassment, of course.

"Mental, that one! She's not said a word to us about you all summer, and once you're here, she blushes and runs off! Are you still sure that you want a crazy fan girl around?" Ron said, almost too smugly at the end for Harry's liking. It was as if the idiot expected Harry to just leave Ginny at the click of his fingers! Well, if it was a game Ron wanted, then Harry would make a new one called 'What happens when someone insults your friend!'

"She was in her nightgown, Ron! She was embarrassed at me seeing her like that, you idiot! And for the record, I don't mind her being around! She treats me more like a proper person than many of the people I know, and she's a 'fan girl'!" Harry chastised, using Ron's own words against him at the end and making the red-haired boy pale as he saw the hidden anger in Harry's eyes almost burning into his soul.

Ron was saved from a possible attack on his soul when Ginny came downstairs in normal clothing, making Harry completely forget about Ron as he went to greet his best friend.

"Hey Ginny, you alright? You had me worried for a minute when you ran upstairs," Harry said kindly.

"Yeah, it's just that I didn't expect you to be here, and there I was in my nightgown. It was a little embarrassing, especially with you...looking..." Ginny explained, whispering the last part in disbelief at the fact that Harry seemed to be taking an interest in her.

Harry subtly glanced over to Ron with a look to say 'I told you' before turning back to Ginny.

"Well, I'm glad you're alright then, and there's nothing for you to be embarrassed about. You're a pretty young girl, so why should you feel embarrassed if I looked at you. You'll get more looks as you get older and prettier, I assure you of that," Harry said before he even thought about what he was saying. He blushed darkly once he realised what he had said and looked down, not wanting to meet her eyes.

"You really think that? You really think that I'm pretty?" Ginny asked, not believing the words coming out of Harry's mouth. She had to be dreaming, surely.

"W-well, of course. Only an idiot wouldn't agree with me! Trust me, Ginny, you'll find a great guy one day and he'll think that you're the most beautiful thing on the planet," Harry said reassuringly, seeing the doubt in her eyes at his earlier statement. However, one thing nagged at the back of Harry's mind. It was a sort of primal part of his mind, and it didn't like the idea of Ginny with a guy other than..._him_?! What was up with his mind lately? He really needed to sit down and think about things when he was alone, otherwise he was afraid that he might fry his mind up.

"Thanks, Harry. That means a lot to me. No-one has ever said that to me before..." Ginny said, trailing off slightly as she became slightly melancholy in her thoughts about her brothers, Ron and Percy, and their old friends insulting her and calling her ugly (Ron) and stupid (Percy).

Harry saw Ginny's mood change and put a hand under her chin to lift her head up so that they locked eyes.

"Hey, just because no-one's said it before me doesn't mean that it's not true. It is. Even if I have to keep reminding you of that fact, I will. You're brilliant, Ginny, and until you accept that, I'll never stop telling you," Harry said reassuringly, earning him a smile from Ginny.

"Come on, I want to show you the back garden!" Ginny said, taking his hand and leading him rather briskly outside to show him the Burrow's back garden.

The next few days was spent with Harry and Ginny spending time together either in the back garden or in her room just talking about everyday things and the past. Ginny told Harry how her family had heckled her over him, but she remained firm and told them nothing, much to his appreciation. Sure, Ron, Fred, George, and Percy tried to separate them a lot, and Ron still tried to befriend Harry, but the duo would always find a way to be together. Even Molly couldn't keep them apart by giving them separate chores. Harry always got his done quickly thanks to his wandless magic and then came in to help Ginny with her chores, which always confused and irritated Molly as she had no idea how he could do his chores so fast to help Ginny. Yes sir, being together at the Burrow was shaping out to be a great end to the summer for Harry and Ginny, and it seemed like nothing could go wrong to spoil it...

**Author's notes: It's a cliff-hanger, so what do you expect will happen in the next chapter then, huh? Well, you'll have to find out when it comes out, won't you? Stay tuned!**


	14. Chapter 14: Unpleasant Acquaintances

**Author's notes: It's time for the second trip to Diagon Alley, and Harry isn't going to have such a brilliant time here this time around. I don't own Harry Potter, J. does. Now then, one with the story...**

Chapter 14: Unpleasant Acquaintances

The end of the summer was drawing near and it was time for the Weasleys and Harry to take a trip to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies for the next year. They had decided to go via Floo powder, and since Harry hadn't ever travelled by this method before, Ron went first to show him what to do, stating his destination, Diagon Alley, clearly before throwing the powder to the floor and being consumed by green flames, leaving no trace of him.

Harry then went up and followed Ron's example, but he choked on saying Diagon Alley, so when he reached his 'destination', he found himself in a seemingly empty, eerie shop. Not wanting to stay any longer than necessary, he scanned around the shop seeing the strangest objects that looked like they had some link to dark magic before he exited the shop, walking into an oddly quiet alleyway. The people he could see just stared at him with cold, distant eyes that made him feel uncomfortable. As he tried to walk away, however, he found that what looked to be the exit was blocked by passersby, and they were heading straight for him.

"Not lost are you, my dear? Why don't you come with us and we'll help you find your way back to where you need to be," croaked a rather shady woman as she grabbed Harry's shoulder. She looked like a classic muggle depiction of a witch and she definitely didn't look like she had anyone's best interests at heart.

"I'd suggest that you let me go on my own way before you get hurt! I have no time for games!" Harry bellowed, shocking the woman and the others around him at his outburst. Obviously, they hadn't expected such a reaction as they backed away, their eyes filled with fear as they stared into his cold, hardened eyes.

Just then, the crowd at the top of the stairway leading to the exit was parted as a giant figure appeared. It was Hagrid.

"'Arry?! Wha' do you think you're doin' down 'ere?! Come on!" Hagrid yelled as the crowd created a path for Harry to walk up to reach his half-giant friend.

Harry was glad that Hagrid had come as he didn't want to lose control, which he was about to had his friend not appeared. You see, Harry and Hermione had become good friends with Hagrid last year after Hagrid had sent a letter to Harry to meet him and they talked about James, Lily, and Hagrid's life. Hermione soon joined after she befriended Harry, and the three had been friends ever since, with the two students visiting Hagrid whenever they had some free time. After Hagrid took Harry back to Diagon Alley, he spoke again.

"Wha' were you thinkin'? Stalkin' around Knockturn Alley? People will think you're up to no good!" Hagrid chastised.

"I was lost, Hagrid. Floo powder is definitely not my favourite way to travel...Hang on...What were you doing down there then?" Harry asked, wondering exactly why his friend was there in the first place. What was _he_ doing there that might be strange?

"I was, well, I was gettin' some flesh-eatin' slug repellent. They're eatin' all the school's cabbages. Knockturn Alley is the only place to get some good repellent nowadays," Hagrid explained, sating Harry's curiosity for now.

Just then, a red missile and a brown one shot towards Harry, knocking him to the floor. It was only when he moved the red and brown masses did he see the faces of his favourite redhead and brunette girls; Ginny and Hermione.

"Don't you dare do that again, Harry Potter! You had me wracked with worry, you prat!" Ginny yelled, causing Harry to feel guilty.

"I'm sorry, Ginny. I choked at somehow landed in a shop in Knockturn Alley. Fortunately, I found Hagrid and he got me out before things got too bad," Harry explained, hoping that Ginny would forgive him.

"Alright, Harry. I forgive you. Just don't do it again. I'd be lost without you." Ginny said before turning to Hagrid, "So you're Hagrid? Thank you for helping Harry and being a good friend to him."

"And I take it tha' you're the Ginny Weasley tha' 'Arry has been talkin' about all last year? Pleased to meet you," Hagrid said, shaking Ginny's hand enthusiastically.

"Oh, it's so good to see you two again, Harry, Hagrid!" Hermione said happily.

"'Ello 'Ermione! 'Ow's your summer been?" Hagrid asked, pleased to see his other friend too.

"Well, me and my parents went on holiday to France as a treat for how well I was doing at Hogwarts. It was so beautiful, especially Paris!" Hermione said excitedly before turning to Ginny, "So this is Ginny? I see why you like her, Harry. I think that she'd be good for you." She said this teasingly.

Harry and Ginny both blushed at the implication, and while she definitely wouldn't mind being 'good for' him, he still hadn't got his mind over how he felt for her, so how could he think about that kind of stuff? The same thoughts ran through his mind again. Did he like Ginny in that way? Did he want her? Damn these stupid emotions! Sometimes he thought that he was better without them, but then he wouldn't have Ginny, Hermione, or Hagrid as friends, and something possibly more in Ginny's case.

'This isn't the time nor the place! Just stop it! It'll do you no good to dwell of these thoughts!' Harry chastised himself mentally.

"Anyway, the others are in Flourish and Blotts, so we better head off. It was nice to meet you, Hagrid," Ginny said, trying to change the subject.

"The pleasure was all mine, Ginny. Oh, and 'Arry? Keep a close eye on 'er. She's someone you shouldn' let go, bu' others might try to take 'er away, just like there always is someone tryin' to ruin everythin'. Just be careful with 'er, alright?" Hagrid said, whispering the last part to Harry, with his meaning not lost on Harry, before walking away towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"Well, before we go to meet up with your family, there's something I need to ask you. Have you bought your wand yet?" Harry asked. He had a sneaky suspicion though that Ginny's parents wouldn't be able to afford a new wand for her, so he already had a plan in mind.

"No, Mum said that they couldn't afford to get me a new wand, so they gave me an old wand used by my grandmother. It doesn't feel right though. Is that bad?" Ginny explained.

"It is. It means that you won't be able to perform magic in correlation to your potential. Come with me. I've got a surprise for you," Harry said, taking Ginny's hand and leading her in the direction of Ollivander's, closely followed by Hermione.

When Ginny saw where Harry was taking her, she stopped and remained firmly routed to the ground.

"Harry, I know what you're up to, but I can't just let you pay to get me a wand! It's not right that you should spend your money on me!" Ginny said firmly, not believing that she deserved Harry's generosity.

"Now Ginny, who else can I spend my money on if not me? I have loads of money, Ginny, and that's just in my trust fund vault! I reckon that there's more in the Potter family vault, so there's no way that I'm going to use it all on me. That's just being unwise and greedy! No, I'll spend my money on my friends, and since you're one of them, I don't see how it's a problem. Think of it as an early birthday present, if you'd like," Harry explained, knowing that the last sentence would do the trick.

Ginny sighed in defeat and accepted Harry's proposal and although she didn't show it, she was jumping for joy in her mind about getting her first present from Harry, and such a brilliant one at that.

Harry lead Ginny and Hermione into Ollivander's and rang the bell, causing the wand maker to appear out from his storeroom to greet his customers.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley, and Miss Granger. My, my, fancy seeing you here, eh? I assume that you've come to get Miss Weasley here a wand?" Ollivander said fondly.

"Yes, sir, how did you know?" Ginny asked in awe of Ollivander's perceptiveness.

"I have my ways, my dear. Now then, let me have a think...Ah, I think I might know just the right wand for you. Hold on..." Ollivander said before heading back into his storeroom. He returned a few minutes later with a wand box and took the wand out before passing it to Ginny.

Ginny took the wand and a red aura, not unlike the colour of her hair, surrounded her. The wand had chosen her.

"I knew it! Even in my old age, I still know a good match when I see one. You see, Miss Weasley, your wand is made from hazel wood, 10 inches. You'll need to keep in control of your emotions for the best results, otherwise it can cause handlers other than yourself a hard time if you've recently been angry or depressed, as I told Mr. Potter when he got his hazel wand. Now, your core is very strange. Again, like Mr. Potter's wand, your wand is a dual-core wand consisting of a dark phoenix feather and a light phoenix feather. The most curious thing is that the feathers were from the same phoenixes that gave the feathers for Mr. Potter's wand. It seems to me as though you and Mr. Potter's lives are entwined with each other if the fact that you have wands that are brother and sister. I see you two doing great things together, so don't let go, whatever you do. People may try to separate you, as they do all good things, but you can't allow that to happen," Ollivander explained, causing Harry and Ginny to look at each other in awe and shock.

Once more, someone else had told Harry and Ginny to not let go of each other, and now they had brother and sister wands? Why was it them who seemed to be entwined together? What did the future have in store for them? They guessed that only time would tell.

Eventually, Harry paid for Ginny's wand, so they and Hermione went back to Flourish and Blotts where the Weasleys were...and where Gilderoy Lockhart was posing for pictures and signing books. Harry didn't know why, but he didn't like the man. He loved the fame he had, and seemed to abuse it and draw it up all of the time. Also, something seemed off about the man too. He had a look in his eye that suggested that he was fearful of being caught with something. But what could that be? He also didn't look to be the type of person who could do all of these great things. When Harry had read some of his books, after buying his supplies from Diagon Alley earlier in the summer, Harry noticed many mistakes in timing, suggesting that he was in multiple places at once, and the methods he used were so illogical that it was impossible for such methods to work at subduing the monsters that he had supposedly killed, tamed, whatever. Harry decided to keep an eye on this one, knowing that he was also going to be the next DADA professor ('Who else would want us to get every single book he's supposedly written but him or a fan?' Harry thought when he came to his conclusion earlier in the summer), and he had a bad feeling that he was a fraud, and that he went to some bad means to get these stories and make them his own. Why else would he have such a worried expression in his eyes? Just then, however, those eyes locked on Harry, more specifically his scar, and Lockhart grinned widely.

"It can't be Harry Potter!" Lockhart declared, causing the crowd to look at Harry.

"Harry Potter! Come up here!" a reporter said, trying to grab Harry's arm to bring him up to Lockhart for a photo.

"Don't touch me! I'm not here for photos! I'm here to find my friends and get out of here!" Harry exclaimed, causing the reporter and Lockhart to back away at his dismissal of their intentions.

"Come on, Harry. Don't be a spoil sport, now. Being a celebrity means that you have so many fans, like me, and you don't won't to let them down, do you?" Lockhart said, hoping to get Harry to reconsider.

"Unfortunately, Lockhart, I'll have to decline. I don't care what people who don't even know me think, neither do I wish to parade myself around like a buffoon so that reporters photograph me, or note down my words to use without my consent!" Harry explained before grabbing the notepad out of the startled reporter's hands.

"Come now, Harry. Why don't you come up here and give everyone what they want, then I can give you your books free of charge?" Lockhart then said, causing many girls, except Ginny and Hermione, to sigh in awe of his 'generosity', not knowing that it was really bribery.

"I don't need your books as I've already bought them a while ago, but I hardly see how they're supposed to teach us anything at school. All it tells us is how brilliant you are, or how handsome you are! How's knowing about you going to teach us how to defend ourselves, or prepare us for exams and the real world? I highly doubt that 'What did Gilderoy Lockhart do in his famous book, Magical Me, that authorised such public awe?' is going to be a question to appear in our OWLs or NEWTs," Harry said vehemently, glaring at the man who seemed to think that he was oh so wonderful!

"Well, I...Well, uh...Well, you never know, Harry. Plus, you could learn some good spells from my books and how to defeat several dark monsters," Lockhart eventually got out, hoping to save himself from Harry's verbal assault.

"Yeah, funny thing that. I never knew that you could be fighting a werewolf in one place while talking to vampires in another...and at the same exact time...Very odd, Lockhart. How did you manage that then? To my understanding, only a few objects exist to do such a thing, and you don't seem to possess any of them," Harry continued, seeing the outraged looks on the young girls' faces, yet approval and relief from the males in the crowd who possibly had been thinking the same thing as Harry.

"Well, uh...Well, I'm not going to tell anyone whether I have them, will I? People will try to steal them off me!" Lockhart countered.

"Do you even know what those objects are, if so, name me one. And why should you be afraid of someone trying to steal _your_ things? You're supposed to be so good, so they shouldn't stand a chance, right?" Harry said sarcastically, emphasising the 'your' when regards to his things as he highly doubted that they should be rightfully his, if they even were to begin with.

"Come along now, Harry! You're being extremely rude! You should know better than to disrespect such a wonderful man! He doesn't need to prove himself to anyone, especially not a child!" Molly chastised Harry, letting out the side of herself that Harry always knew existed when regards to him.

"Oh but he does, Mrs. Weasley. There's too many mistakes and illogical methods in his books that warrant such an interrogation. If you're too blinded by his fame, however, then I don't see much point in continuing to argue with people like you," Harry said before turning at his feet and walking towards the exit, ignoring the outraged cries of Lockhart's fan girls, and women. Ginny followed after him, but not before giving her mother a dark, disappointed look.

"I bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?! Famous Harry Potter can't go into a bookshop without making the front page or a scene!" a voice said angrily, which was revealed to be Draco Malfoy's voice when he appeared to block Harry and Ginny from exiting.

"Leave him alone! He didn't want that, but he was right in his theories, so shove off!" Ginny shouted, glaring at Malfoy.

"Oh look, Potter! You've got yourself a girlfriend!" Malfoy exclaimed, hoping to cause Harry discomfort and embarrass the Weaslette.

"She's a lot better than the things you hang around with! You know, the amount of time you, Crabbe, and Goyle spend together warrants the thought that you three may be quite...intimate...You wouldn't happen to enjoy the 'company of men', would you, Draco?" Harry said, grinning as he saw Malfoy's face redden in embarrassment and anger. It was a well known fact that pureblood-extremist families, like the Malfoys, were homophobes and hated the very idea, saying that it was unnatural, so to accuse a member of one of these families was certain to cause them trouble, which is just what Harry wanted.

"Why you little-!" Malfoy went for his wand, but a stick hit his arm before he could, making him recoil in pain.

"Now, now, Draco. Play nicely. Well now...Harry Potter...Lucius Malfoy," Lucius said, holding a hand out for Harry to shake.

"A pleasure, I'm sure. You might want to reign your son in a little. His perception isn't very good as he needs to work on picking out the fine details," Harry said politely, shaking Lucius' hand, albeit rather hard. This man helped Voldemort after all, and he knew that Lucius was only being civil towards him due to being in a public setting. The anger in the man's eyes were obvious, and it was directed right at Harry for defeating Voldemort with his parents' help.

"I'll make a note on that, Mr. Potter. Forgive me." Lucius said, reaching out to touch Harry's scar, "Your scar is legend, as of course is the wizard who gave it to you."

The crowd now listened intently to hear what Harry had to say to this, many thinking how he was going to recoil in mention of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, like everyone else did, or would agree. They were shocked when he finally answered.

"Voldemort killed my parents. He was nothing more than a vile murderous scumbag! He was an egomaniac! A self-proclaimed 'Lord' who had no right to such a title! And the name Voldemort is just stupid! I'd like to know his true name, if only to ruin his image of fear! I only wish that I had him here now so that I could make him pay for making me an orphan one more time!" Harry said vehemently, venom dripping out in his words as he spoke about his hatred for the Dark Lord.

"You must be very brave to mention his name...or very foolish," Lucius said after he recovered from his initial shock and anger at the way Harry spoke about the Dark Lord.

"The fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," Hermione piped in, drawing Lucius' attention away from Harry for the time being.

"And you must be...Miss Granger?" Lucius said, looking for confirmation from Draco. Once he received a nod of the head from his son, he continued, "Yes, Draco's told me all about you, and your parents...Muggles, aren't they?"

"Why would that matter to you? You don't have anything against muggles, do you? After all, many muggle-borns have been found to be extremely clever and versatile at magic, my mother and Hermione being two of them," Harry enquired, trying to catch Lucius out in his obvious implication about muggles.

"Not at all, Mr. Potter. Now then, let's see." Lucius said as he looked at Ginny and took one of her books before continuing, "Red hair. Vacant expression. Tatty second-hand books. You must be a Weasley, my dear." He said this last word with a hint of disgust, yet something else that made Harry shiver in discomfort, yet made his blood boil as rage rushed through him as Lucius analysed and subtly insulted Ginny.

Soon, the rest of the Weasleys began to see the confrontation and went up to see what was going on, with Arthur coming up to confront Lucius himself. After a few exchanged words of loathing, Lucius put Ginny's book back in her cauldron before turning around and leaving, followed closely by Draco, but not before he said a 'goodbye' of sorts to Harry.

"See you at school, Potter! And make sure to look after yourself and your little Weaslette. You never know what might happen!" Draco warned, smirking.

"If you, or any of your friends, so much as touch one hair on Ginny's head, you'll rue the day you ever met me, Draco Malfoy!" Harry threatened, causing Draco to open his eyes wide with hidden fear before rushing out to catch up with his father.

The rest of the day was spent with the Weasleys getting their school supplies, except for Lockhart's books as he had given Molly free ones as a reward for her faith and defence of him, much to Harry and Ginny's annoyance. Hermione went off with her parents early on, so Harry and Ginny were on their own, in the sense of mutual understanding that was, and were avoiding talking with any of her family as they didn't want to start another argument with Molly over Lockhart, despite the fact that she would never win an argument against Harry when his beliefs and theories were so strong, and he hadn't been proven wrong yet. After the Weasleys got their supplies and returned home, Harry and Ginny went up to her room to recall the day's events and analyse what they had learnt, coming to the conclusion that Lockhart was indeed a fraud, and that they needed to watch him carefully in case he did something to them in any of their lessons, and that Lucius and Draco were not the best of fellows. The best bit of all, though, was that no-one had noticed Ginny's new wand, and they planned to keep it that way for the time being.

Harry soon left Ginny's room and went to his own, which is when Ginny found a strange diary of sorts falling out of one of her books. She didn't remember getting it, but she began to write in it all the same to see how it worked. Strangely, the book began to write back, saying that it was the memory of the previous owner, Tom Marvolo Riddle. He talked to her almost like Harry did, comforting her and almost seemingly trying to get her to open up to him. Unfortunately, she didn't have much time to write to him tonight as she was tired, so she wrote goodbye and place the diary on her desk before getting dressed for bed and letting sleep claim her.

If Ginny was able to read emotions, she would've felt Tom's evil, maniacal joyfulness at being released at last to find a vulnerable young girl who he could easily use to control and do his bidding at Hogwarts. Yes, it was almost time for Slytherin to rise once more...

**Author's notes: Oh dear, Tom's diary has been revealed. Will Harry be able to notice its intentions towards Ginny in time? Stay tuned to find out. Note: Hermione won't be a Lockhart fan girl after spending so much quality time with Harry and learning from him. She too will have noticed the same mistakes as Harry, and Ginny noticed them when Harry gave her his books to read and pointed said mistakes out. The mistakes are made up, but I assume that similar ones would've existed as I'm not sure on them at the moment. Let's just say, for this reality, Lockhart went AWOL with trying to get fame and didn't bother to check for timeline mistakes etc. Harry is a little darker and quick to anger in this chapter for the reason being that he can see that Lockhart is a fraud, is trying to manipulate him, and is milking the fame that he shouldn't have, which doesn't sit right with Harry at all as it goes against his beliefs. Yes, it's a little over the top, but my 'original' Harry personality has to come out occasionally at times to show that Ginny (and Hermione to a lesser extent) still has some work to do on him. Also, I'm not sure whether to make this into a Harry/Ginny Soul-Bond fanfic. I know that it's looking as such, but what do you think? Should I do that, or make it a normal, albeit very affectionate and protective, relationship between Harry and Ginny? The deadline for this is the third year chapters, which I when I plan to get them together officially, but when in third year, I haven't decided yet (SPOILERS!). I hope you enjoyed the chapter though, and reviews are much appreciated. Bye for now.**


	15. Chapter 15: Problems and Alliances

**Author's notes: I don't own Harry Potter, J. does. Anyway, this chapter will deal with the whole Harry and Snape issue at the end for those of you eager to see how it works out. Hope you like it. On with the story...**

Chapter 15: Problems and Alliances

A couple of months after the Malfoy fiasco, Harry followed the Weasleys as they entered King's Cross Station. For some strange reason, Harry had a bad feeling about today, and he thought that it had some link to Platform 9 and 3/4. Percy, Fred, George, Molly, and Arthur all made it through without a problem, but as soon as Harry tried to get through, the barrier seemed to seal itself and he just ran into a brick wall. Harry, Ginny, and Ron were trapped.

"Oh no! We'll miss the train!" Ron exclaimed.

"The train leaves at exactly 11:00am! We've missed it!" Ginny exclaimed, gesturing at the clock that had just hit 11:00am.

"Umm...guy? If we can't get through, maybe Mum and Dad can't get back!" Ron said, starting to hyperventilate.

"Let's just wait for them. It's plausible that they might've noticed us missing so will have stopped the train while they tried to remove the block on the barrier. There's no need to panic," Harry said calmly. He knew that he could remove the block on the barrier, but it would mean that he would have to reveal his powers, which he didn't want to do yet. No, it shouldn't take long for the Weasley parents and others to get the barrier unsealed anyway, so they might as well wait.

"Hold on! Why didn't I think of this before! What about my dad's car?! We can fly to Hogwarts instead and make an awesome entrance if we wanted too!" Ron said, already picturing how everyone would admire him for coming up with such a great idea and getting them to Hogwarts instead of waiting for someone to come first.

"Ron, that's a stupid idea. 1) What if we got caught? 2) What if we get hurt if something goes wrong with the car? And 3) Your parents shouldn't be too long in getting the barrier unsealed anyway, so do you think that they'd appreciate how little faith you have in them by running off to fly your dad's car to Hogwarts?" Harry chastised, silently enjoying the embarrassed blush appearing on Ron's face.

"Harry's right, Ron. Let's just wait for Mum and Dad. They wouldn't just forget us!" Ginny also chastised, but inwardly hissed at her last statement, knowing that her parents didn't care about her or Harry, except for his money.

"Fine! But if they don't come back within five minutes, I'm going to the car and I'll leave you here if you still want to be stupid and wait!" Ron shouted in defeat, sitting on one of the benches and huffing.

Soon enough, after a few minutes, Molly and Arthur appeared through the barrier and lead the three students through onto the Platform. After giving Ron an 'I told you so' look, Harry and Ginny got onto the train, followed closely by Ron, who deliberately put himself in front of Ginny, blocking her off from Harry. Harry soon found Hermione in an empty compartment and went inside. Ron grudgingly went inside and was about to be followed in by Ginny, but the red-haired boy in question put an arm out to stop her.

"Go away, Ginny! No-one wants you here! Go find some girls your own age instead of cramping Harry's style!" Ron ordered.

"Let her through, Ronald! _I_ want her here, and if you have a problem with that, then get lost! It's not your decision on who I befriend, so I'd suggest that you get your head out of your arse!" Harry bellowed, causing Ron to step back slightly in fear, which gave Ginny the chance to get past him and sit next to Harry. Ron huffed angrily and grudgingly sat next to Hermione. He made sure to turn his back to the bushy-haired girl though, alternately glaring at Ginny and trying to analyse Harry's behaviours and mannerisms for any information.

Ron had been trained in Legilimency by Dumbledore for his mission to spy on Harry, but he was never good at learning as it took too much effort. Consequently, his Legilimency skills were rubbish, but he thought that it would be enough to get information from Harry's mind as he believed that the Boy-Who-Lived's mind wouldn't be defended. He was obviously shocked when he was immediately rebuffed on his first attempt to penetrate Harry's mind, with no success on any other try. This attempt was no different; a complete rebuff, and Ron was sure that he caught a slightly smirk from Harry. Did the boy know that his mind was being attacked unsuccessfully? Surely not, he couldn't have learnt Occlumency, he wasn't even raised in a magical home! And why wasn't he battered, bruised, weak, and manipulative like Dumbledore said he would be when he first arrived on the scene? Harry Potter was confident and strong-willed! This only furthered Ron's hatred of the rich celebrity that was Harry Potter. Regardless of the fact that Harry never advertised his wealth, Ron was sure that it was just a clever scheme to make people like him before he stabbed them all in the back. Ron would enjoy taking that money once Harry was killed in a battle he couldn't win. Dumbledore would make Harry suicidal for sure and kill himself to stop Voldemort, then Dumbledore would step in and take control, making the Weasleys, except Ginny ('The traitorous whore!' Ron thought darkly), his seconds in command to do as they pleased with Harry's wealth.

Unknown to Ron, Harry had heard Ron's thoughts through using subtle Legilimency. He had never truly used it on another wizard before to spy on them, but he was glad that he did now. It seemed as though he was getting deeper into figuring out all of this, and Merlin help Dumbledore once Harry knew the whole story and knew what was being kept from him! Soon, a familiar face appeared at the compartment door, sliding it open to reveal Draco Malfoy with an evil grin on his face, surrounded by Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson, his betrothed.

"Well, well, well! Look who it is! It's Potty and his little gang of fan girls!" Malfoy exclaimed, smirking away.

"What do you want, Malfoy? We've got better things to do than to listen to you witter on about utter crap," Harry said dismissively.

"Hey! Don't you dare talk to me like that! You ought to know your place, Potter!" Malfoy growled.

"What? And you think that you know my place? What are you, some head honcho type of guy? I highly doubt that! A boy who hides behind his father and master's robes?! Yeah, I shouldn't dare to talk to a little boy like that!" Harry mocked.

"Don't you talk to him like that, you arsehole! My Draco's more of a man than you ever will be!" Pansy shouted.

"What world have you been living in then, Parkinson? By my understanding, Harry defends himself and his friends while your betrothed insults people and then runs and hides like a coward when things get too rough! I believe that what Harry does is manly, while what Draco does in childish and cowardly!" Ginny shouted back, defending Harry.

"Oh yes, I remember you. You're Potter's girlfriend. You quite a feisty one, aren't you? However, you're on the wrong side with him. Come with me and I'll show you what a real man can do," Malfoy offered, licking his lips in cruel anticipation as he thought about how he could corrupt his father's rival's daughter.

"I'll choose you over Harry when Hell freezes over, Malfoy!" Ginny said firmly.

"Don't make a decision you'll regret, whore! Draco could give you everything you want if you choose him! You could finally save your blood traitor family's honour by associating with such an upstanding wizard like Draco!" Pansy said.

"As if associating with a Death Eater's son will give my family honour! Sorry, I think that I'll stick with Harry, thank you Parkinson. You can waste your life away with Malfoy for all I care. You seem to be quite happy with the idea," Ginny said.

"Why you filthy little whore! I'll-!" Pansy screamed, reaching for her wand, but she found it missing from her holster.

"I wouldn't bother, Parkinson. It's over here," Harry said, twiddling her wand in his hand.

"How dare you steal from me! Give that back now!" Pansy screamed again.

"Not until you leave. Once you do, you'll find that your wand will be returned, as will yours, Malfoy..." Harry said

"What?!" Malfoy asked rhetorically, searching for his wand, but not finding it in his holster, just like Pansy.

"Now that you understand your positions, I suggest that you leave. Good day," Harry said dismissively.

"My father will hear about this!" Malfoy spat angrily.

"Then I'll enjoy watching him berate you about how you let yourself be disarmed so easily. It's not befitting for such a high standing pureblood wizard to be disarmed so easily, now is it, Draco?" Harry asked rhetorically, grinning madly as he knew that he had the bastard there.

Malfoy merely huffed in annoyance and walked away, followed closely by his cronies, and in keeping of his word, Harry sent the wands back to their owners once they were out of sight and range.

"How the bloody hell did you do that, Harry?!" Ron immediately asked.

"Magic, Ron. Pure and simple," Harry grinned, hiding the fact that he was doing this to keep his secrets safe from the likes of Dumbledore and the Weasleys, minus Ginny. She knew how he did it, but wouldn't say either.

"Right. Well, you think that it'll be a fun year this year?" Ron said, inwardly fuming at Harry's refusal to give any information.

"If someone doesn't try to kill me this year, I'll consider it to be brilliant, Ron, but I don't hold much hope for that," Harry answered.

Most of the journey was then spent with the group talking about what they did over the summer, with Harry and Ginny muting out what they did together and anything to do with Harry's training. They would tell Hermione when the trio were on their own, but not with Ron sitting with them in case he reported anything to Dumbledore, which they knew that he would. Soon, the group got changed into their robes and they eventually reached Hogwarts Station, but Ginny had to leave to go to Hogwarts via the boats. So after a goodbye hug from Harry, who reassured her of being just fine and being sorted into Gryffindor with him, she left for the boats, leaving Harry, Hermione and Ron to go to Hogwarts via the carriages. When the three students made it to Hogwarts and entered the Great Hall, Harry made a clear point of sitting in between Hermione and Neville Longbottom, who he had befriended towards the end of last year, to make sure that Ron had to sit next to Hermione instead of next to Harry.

"Hey, Neville? Would you mind if my friend Ginny sits next to me when she comes? I don't want to sound rude and all but-" Harry whispered, making sure that Ron couldn't hear him.

"It's fine, Harry. I haven't seen her here, so I guess that you met her before Hogwarts and you want to catch up, right? It's alright by me if you want to talk to an old friend, so you don't need to make any excuses, mate," Neville replied quietly, smiling at Harry.

"Thanks, mate. You're a good friend," Harry smiled back, thankful for Neville's understanding.

Soon enough, the new first years arrived, but Harry kept his eyes on Ginny as she walked up to the Sorting Hat with the rest of the first years. The Sorting Ceremony was over quite quickly as the Sorting Hat seemed to not need to dig deep with many people, sorting them into houses in mere seconds after being placed on their heads. However, when Ginny came up to the stool and had the Hat placed on her head, Harry kept his eyes locked with hers, silently offering his support as he could see the panic beginning to form within the depths of her eyes.

Ginny was beginning to get worried once her name got called out. As the Hat got placed on her head, she caught Harry's eyes with her own and couldn't look away. She knew what he was doing, and it just made her love him more. He may put up a shield around his emotions in public; a mask to hide the real Harry Potter under, but she knew the truth. He opened up to her, however slightly that was, but he had. She knew him better than anyone else, possibly even Hermione, and that made her feel special. Maybe...just maybe...

'You should be careful with him, Miss Weasley. There's a darkness within him that has been created by the actions of some evil and cruel people, and I'm not sure whether he'll be able to handle it if it takes over,' the Sorting Hat warned Ginny mentally, as her thoughts were passed onto him.

'I don't care. Voldemort, the Dursleys, my family, and Dumbledore, will pay for hurting him, I'll make sure of that. I'll make him see what it's like to be loved and cared about, you'll see. Even if I have to face up against his inner darkness, I'll pull him through. I swear it!' Ginny replied mentally, angry at the Hat's implications.

'You're a feisty one, aren't you? Perhaps you're just what he needs...But don't be too insistent. Let him come to you. The boy is not great with emotions and needs to realise things at his own pace. Now then, you have many qualities of all four houses, just like Mr. Potter, but I wouldn't be a good Hat if I separated two good friends up who need each other. So then...' the Sorting Hat said mentally.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat exclaimed aloud, making Ginny and Harry both grin happily, knowing that they wouldn't be separated by houses.

Ginny ran to the Gryffindor table and, as requested, Neville moved aside to allow Ginny to sit next to Harry, who gave her a one-arm hug to congratulate her.

"See, I told you that it would be alright," Harry said smugly.

"Well, you didn't actually say that, but you...how can I put this...'looked' it? 'Implied it by looking'? Either way, thank you," Ginny said before impulsively kissing his cheek.

This effectively caused Harry and Ginny to stiffen and blush profoundly. After the Sorting Ceremony had finished and the feast started, things weren't any better as the two still blushed and fidgeted awkwardly, especially if they grazed each other's arm or leg with their own. Harry took this time to try to use Legilimency on Dumbledore and Snape as he could see them watching both him and Ginny intently. Harry silently, and with surgical precision, entered the minds of both men without them even knowing. He found that Dumbledore was thinking of his latest scheme on getting Harry under his control by trying to control and manipulate Ginny to be his new spy, which didn't sit well with Harry at all. He'd be keeping a close watch over Ginny and on Dumbledore. If he ever came near Ginny and hurt her, he would pay.

Harry also found out something rather interesting from Snape. Snape was thinking about how much Harry looked like his father, James, and acted so high and mighty because he was famous. This nearly caused Harry to retreat as he was getting angry by the man's prejudice, until Snape wondered why Harry couldn't be more like Lily, his wonderful, caring mother, Lily. How did Snape know about Lily? Did he used to be a friend of hers? Why didn't he tell Harry? He needed to find this out. Also, he really should apologise to Snape. It didn't do him any favours acting like how his father apparently acted, and if Snape knew his mother, then the man could be a good ally. So, when everyone was dismissed to go to their dormitories, Harry told Ginny to go without him as he needed to talk to Snape about something he just found out concerning Snape and Harry's mother. She understood and left him to it. So, Harry hid away until all of the professors were gone except for Snape, and that's when he made his entrance.

"Potter! What are you doing here?! I'll-!" Snape began, but Harry put his hands up.

"I didn't come to fight you, Professor. I came to ask you some questions...and to apologise," Harry said calmly.

"Apologise? You?" Snape asked, obviously shocked by Harry's comment.

"Yes, I know that we didn't get off to a good start last year. I apologise for my outburst, but I won't apologise for the why. I have questions for you concerning my parents, however, I think that we should do it in your office as it's more private there. I don't trust people to use this area for spying or listening in to the things I say," Harry explained.

"Very well, Potter. This better be good. I didn't expect you to be so aware of your surroundings," Snape agreed grudgingly, impressed by Harry's cautiousness, as very non-Gryffindor-like quality.

After they got to Snape's office, his curiosity won out in the end as he wanted to know what Potter wanted that warranted a discussion in private.

"Out with it, Potter! I don't have all day!" Snape sneered.

"Alright, Professor. I won't beat around the bush, as muggles say. I've found out things that make me highly cautious of my surroundings and the people around me. I have uncovered a conspiracy against me that I will show you, should you bring your pensieve out," Harry explained.

"How do you know that I have a pensieve?!" Snape spluttered.

"It's simple, Professor. After discovering this conspiracy, I needed to know everything from the minds of the suspects, so I used Legilimency on you, Dumbledore, and some students who worship the ground the old coot walks on. You have never shown anything but contempt for me, so forgive me for my intrusion, but it was necessary to protect myself and rule out those who might actually be conspiring against me," Harry explained calmly.

"You can use Legilimency?! But how is that even possible?! You should know Occlumency, let alone Legilimency, at your age! And the fact that you've seemed to get into my mind undetected is also something odd in itself! How did you do it?!" Snape asked, too shocked, and impressed, to rant or insult Harry.

"As I said, I had to learn such things to protect myself. I've been learning since I finally stepped up to my 'relatives' and forced them to tell me about the magical world and how my parents really died. I then got the necessary requirements from Diagon Alley when I first went there. And before you ask, I'm telling you this because I know that you aren't in on this conspiracy against me with Dumbledore. As proof, I'll show you my memories of the thoughts I heard from Dumbledore and a certain Mr. Weasley, and of my life at the Dursleys, via your pensieve, if you would get it out, please?" Harry replied.

Snape did just that, so Harry took out the necessary memories from his mind and put them into the pensieve for Snape to view. Once Snape came out of the pensieve liquid, he had three emotions on his face; shock, remorse, and anger.

"That old fool! How could he do such a thing?! Has he no brain?!" Snape asked rhetorically, not expecting an answer.

"I think that he let his thirst for power rule his thoughts, Professor. However, I have some questions for you," Harry answered anyway, drawing Snape back to him.

"Go ahead, Potter," Snape sighed.

"I understand that you didn't like my father, but I want to know why. Also, how did you know my mother?" Harry asked.

"Your father was a very popular boy when we were at Hogwarts. He was a lady's man in his early years, arrogant, foolish, and he was also a bully. I wasn't very social, but academic, so I was a target. Your mother, however, was my first, and only true, friend. She was kind, supportive, and caring. I...loved her...But I did something foolish. I got in with the wrong crowd. I started to befriend death eaters. I learned bad terminology that were associated with people like your mother. Muggle-borns, that is. One day, your father and his friends went a bit overboard, so when your mother came to help me, I was already angry, and I didn't like it that I needed a girl to fight my battles, so I lashed out at her. I called her an unforgivable name; mudblood. 'Mudblood' is a foul name used by pureblood purist to describe a muggle-born as they don't consider them to be anymore than dirt beneath their feet. If I had only listened to your mother and left those death eaters, I would still be by her side as her friend to this day. Subsequently, she never forgave me for what I did and shunned me. Eventually, your father realised how he felt for your mother, stopped his foolishness, and won her over. They got married and had you. The rest of the story, you already know, apart from when I first saw you, you looked so much like your father that I forgot that you were also my dear Lily's son. I thought that you would just be a mini-James, but you proved me wrong, and I didn't like it...I'm so sorry..." Snape explained, not leaving anything out like Harry hadn't.

Harry didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to say. He could tell that Snape wasn't lying; his body language and his tone of voice was a testament to his truthfulness. This man had been through a lot himself, and yet, he still carried on, just like Harry, hiding away his true feelings. Yes, Snape would be a good ally after all.

"Professor, I'm sorry..." Harry said, not knowing what else to do.

"You don't need to be sorry, Potter...You have your mother's eyes, you know? Yes...maybe there is more Lily in you than James after all...I realise that now...I've been foolish...I promised to look after Lily's son, yet instead of doing that, I insult him and don't see how the old fool is trying to control him by being blinded by my grudge against his father. Well, no more. I'll help you in anyway, I can Potter. It's the least I can do for what you've shown me and for helping me to get over this stupid grudge I've held against you and James. He changed for the better, so can I," Snape declared.

"That means a lot to me, Professor. Thank you for telling me this and for listening to me," Harry said, genuinely happy at how well this conversation had gone.

"In private, you can call me Severus, as these types of conversations have nothing to do with school. Here, I'm your friend through your parents, not your professor," Snape, no, Severus said, actually smiling for the first time in many years.

"Only if you call me Harry, Severus," Harry retorted, causing them both to chuckle a bit.

"Now then, off with you. Your friends will be wondering where you are, and you don't want the wrong people to start getting suspicious. I'll try to find out anything about this plan of Dumbledore's if I can and relay it back to you. If I have anything of interest, I'll send my owl and I'll sign it in a way to keep my identity hidden, but you'll know that it's me, just in case anyone goes snooping," Severus explained.

"Thank you, Severus. Goodbye, and I'll see you in Potions tomorrow," Harry said as he turned to walk away.

"Yes, and don't mess anything up. I have high hopes for you, Harry. Your mother excelled in Potions, and you're showing potential. Don't let me down," Severus said in a somehow serious, yet joking tone of voice.

"I won't, Severus. Bye," Harry said before exiting the office and walking the distance to his common room.

'He may be young, but he has a lot of potential...Maybe he is the one to end this war once it starts up again, but he'll do it by his rules, that's for sure. Don't worry, Lily, I'll help him to the best of my ability. I swear it,' Severus declared mentally. Yes, he would keep Lily's son safe from the manipulations of Dumbledore and others and help him to fulfil his destiny so that they could all have a bright future.

**Author's notes: Yep, I decided to make Snape OOC now, before you ask about his behaviour. He's more understanding and will now be a good guy and will treat Harry fairly. Stay tuned viewers. Bye for now.**


	16. Chapter 16: A New Friend

**Author's note: I'm back with a new chapter that I've been going over for some time now in my head. I don't own Harry Potter, JKR does (but Hallie is my own OC). Enjoy!**

Chapter 16: A New Friend

A few days after Harry made peace with Severus, he was walking down the corridors towards the Gryffindor common room to meet Ginny when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He saw a group of Slytherin boys surrounding something against the wall of an empty corridor to his right. As he got closer, he saw that they were surrounding a young Slytherin girl who looked to be around Ginny's age. He soon heard what the boys were saying though, and it didn't help his already dark mood at seeing them surrounding and scaring the poor girl.

"How could a puny Mudblood like you ever get sorted into the noble house of Slytherin?! You're not fit to be among the same ranks as us Purebloods! Go back home to your filthy Muggle parents where you belong!" one boy shouted.

"You know boys, she needs to learn her place. And there's only one sure way to make Mudblood whores find that out...What's say we take this somewhere a little more private?" the leader of the group suggested, causing the boys to smirk and chuckle darkly, the girl to stiffen in fear, and Harry to seethe in anger.

It was at this point when Harry decided that enough was enough. Unlike many other Gryffindors, and other members of the other houses nowadays, Harry had all of the positive traits of each house, which included the Gryffindor courage and nobility. Due to living with the Dursleys, he grew to hate those who picked on those who were weaker than themselves, being defined as cowardly behaviour in his mind, which led to many of his old school bullies becoming docile and quiet after he was finished with them. This situation was no different, except the actions would be considerably worse for the girl if he left her with these bullies.

"You should watch what you say in the open air, boys...Someone might hear you...And they may not like what they hear..." Harry said in a calm, foreboding tone of voice.

"What's it to you punk?!" the leader asked harshly, turning to see the now cross-armed Harry Potter staring him down without a hint of fear that the older Slytherin wasn't used to seeing in anyone.

"Didn't your daddy ever tell you that it's cowardly to pick on those who are smaller and weaker than you? Or was your daddy a cowardly Pureblood too?" Harry said, deliberately provoking the boy to draw his attention from the girl.

"How dare you insult me and my father! We are from one of the Noble Houses! You should learn some respect, you little runt!" growled the boy as he reached for his wand.

"Right, and I'm from one of the Ancient Noble Houses. In fact, I'm it's Head of House, so it's you who needs to learn respect as I'm higher ranking than you in terms of your stupid hierarchy system of Houses. I could have you expelled right now by just a flick of my wrist and a certain memory of what you 'suggested' to do to this girl. The fact that I stopped you from doing anything is beside the matter. The intent is all that's needed for conviction, if you would read the law instead of believing, like most of you arrogant, pig-headed idiots that you're above it in all aspects. Now, I'd suggest that you leave, and I'll not say a word about this, and I know that you wouldn't either..." Harry explained, smirking as he watched the boy and his group go from shock to anger as he continued to speak.

"Enough! You're nothing more than a scrawny second year! I won't let you tell me what to do! You're going to pay for insulting me and my father!" the boy screamed in anger, drawing his wand.

"What is it with you Purebloods and your obsessions with your fathers? Do you secretly fancy your fathers or something?" Harry asked with a smirk, causing the girl to giggle.

"Shut up! Diffindo!" the boy screamed, firing the spell at Harry.

Harry merely grinned as he conjured a bō and deflected the spell into the wall to the shock of all of those present.

"Care to try again? Or are you finally going to understand that you're not going to win this?" Harry questioned.

The boy didn't seem to have much intelligence as he ran forward, firing off more spells. Harry merely blocked each spell before striking the boy in the stomach, causing him to keel over in pain before Harry knocked him out with a stunning spell. The rest of the group just stood there dumbfounded as they watched their leader get taken out so easily. They looked at Harry with fear in their eyes before trying to run away. Harry, wanting absolute justice, didn't allow the group to get more than a metre away from their starting positions before firing off stunners, knocking them all out cold. He then banished them to the Headmaster's office with a conjured note that read: "I'll be there soon to deal with this mess, I assure you. Yours sincerely, Harry Potter" before heading over to the girl, who was still sitting on the floor curled up into a ball for safety.

"Hey, it's over now. They can't hurt you. Now, I don't believe that we've met before. I'm Harry Potter, pleased to meet you," Harry said reassuringly.

"I'm Hallie Jackson. Thank you for saving me from those guys. Why did they do that? I didn't do anything to them," Hallie answered, still a bit scared after the experience.

"They did it because you're different to them, and to them, different is bad. They live in a fantasy world where their blood is superior because it's completely magical maternally and paternally. They are what makes a corrupt society, and the Ministry does nothing to stop this because of bribes and fear of change," Harry explained with a sigh as this topic always made him just lose faith in the world and its people.

"That's horrible!" Hallie exclaimed.

"I know, but that's how this foolish society runs," Harry replied.

"I have to ask though...Why did you help me? I thought that all Gryffindors hated Slytherins," Hallie questioned hesitantly.

"Because if I persecuted people based on their blood and house, I'd be no better than Voldemort as he also persecuted people based on their blood," Harry explained.

"I guess that you're right there. I'm surprised that you said his name. Most people call him 'You-Know-Who', 'He-Who-Must'Not-Be-Named', or 'the Dark Lord'," Hallie said.

"I don't fear that monster, so why should I fear his name? It's irrational fear like that that causes people to become vulnerable and makes him think that he has more power than he does. In reality, he's just a higher-than-average wizard," Harry explained.

"Wow, I didn't think about it that way before, but that makes a lot of sense," Hallie commented.

"I like you, Hallie Jackson. I can see that this is the start of a beautiful friendship. Now then, let's take care of those imbeciles, shall we?" Harry said.

"Alright!" Hallie exclaimed happily.

Harry led Hallie to Dumbledore's office to see the Headmaster about to revive the Slytherin boys with an annoyed expression on his face. Harry then took this time to step in.

"I wouldn't bother with reviving them, Headmaster. They don't need to be conscious during this," Harry stated.

"Harry?! What is the meaning of this?!" Dumbledore demanded angrily.

"Where is your pensieve? I will explain everything through the memory of the event as I doubt that mere words are enough to prove what they've done," Harry replied, equally as demanding as Dumbledore.

Dumbledore merely gritted his teeth a little before bringing his pensieve over to Harry and Hallie.

"I hope that this explanation is good, Harry. It's not right to attack other students, even if they have annoyed you, my boy," Dumbledore chastised, trying to regain his usual grandfatherly tone, which Harry had always seen right through.

"Trust me, Headmaster...they've done more than annoy me..." Harry said forebodingly.

Harry then cast the spell to collect the memory of the event from his point of view, Hallie's, and all of the unconscious boys, much to the confusion and annoyance of Dumbledore.

"Now, Harry, they're unconscious. Shouldn't you just leave them be? Surely you can't-" Dumbledore tried to say before being interrupted.

"No, I shouldn't. Not when there's justice to be done. And yes, I can extract memories from an unconscious person, as long as I focus hard enough, so don't try to talk me out of this!" Harry replied, nearly losing his patience with the Headmaster.

Harry dropped each memory into the pensieve in order of what Harry wanted Dumbledore to see it in. Dumbledore then grudgingly placed his face into the pensieve and viewed all of the memories. A while later, Dumbledore came up with a shocked expression on his face.

"I can't believe this..." Dumbledore stated.

"Believe it, Headmaster. These students attempted to rape Hallie for prejudiced reasons. If I'm not mistaken, it's grounds for being expelled, is it not?" Harry queried.

"Well yes, but I don't trust the Board of Governors to let them leave for too long. Most of their fathers are in it and will find a way around this," Dumbledore said.

"Let me speak to them...I'm sure that they'll understand..." Harry asked with a fake innocent tone of voice that made the sentence even darker sounding.

"I highly doubt that they'll listen to a second year, Harry, my boy. A simple house points deduction and detentions for the rest of the year should do the trick without this hassle," Dumbledore suggested.

"No, Headmaster. I won't stand by and let potential rapists loose in the school. You may not care, but I do. Justice will be served. Now call your Board and tell them that there's an important matter that needs to be discussed..." Harry demanded once more, growing tired of the Headmaster's further attempts to gain control over the situation.

"Fine...But I warn you; they won't listen," Dumbledore warned before walking off to the fireplace to Floo call the Board members.

"Oh, they will...They will..." Harry replied with a smirk.

It didn't take long for the Board members to arrive via the Floo Network. The sight that beheld them when they came out was not what they first thought from Dumbledore's call.

"What is the meaning of this?! Who did this to our boys?!" one member asked angrily.

"I did, and for a good reason, which is why you're here to discuss what should happen to them," Harry answered calmly.

"You runt! How dare you attack our boys! Why hasn't he been expelled, Dumbledore?!" another member growled.

"Because I'm not the one who is being expelled here, sir, but all of your boys," Harry replied.

"What?! This can't be right!" a third member exclaimed in disbelief.

"Trust me, it is. Through the collection of memories from myself, Hallie, and your boys, it is clear evidence that they attempted to rape Hallie based solely on making her 'learn her place' as a Muggle-born who they deem to be of a lower class to them. This is grounds for expulsion, and I hope that you will deal with your sons accordingly when you take them home with you," Harry explained.

This is where Harry saw the masks come on each member. They knew that they were trapped and couldn't do anything to prevent their sons from being punished, so they would try to act outraged with their sons to keep their appearance in public as good-mannered citizens, even though they wouldn't have batted an eyelid if they saw what their sons did. In fact, they'd probably encourage it.

"I must say, we had no idea. We are ashamed that our sons could be so foolish. But why should they be expelled? We can just suspend them for a while, make them see the error of their ways, then they can return as good students like they should be," one member suggested.

"No, as much as I hate to say this, but I doubt that this is, was, or ever will be, a rare occurrence. No...we must set an example for all of those who may be thinking of attempting such vile acts in the future, or who have in the past. This is the only way to make people learn," Harry explained, dismissing the suggestion completely.

"And of what right are you to say this?! It's our decision and the Headmaster's on what happens to our boys, not a mere second year!" another member stated angrily.

Harry expected this kind of resistance, but hoped that it wouldn't happen all the same. This meant that he'd have to resort to Plan B. He folded his arms and subtly waved his hand blocked from view in the required shape before casting compulsion spells on all of the members to agree with whatever he said next without question.

"As I said before, the rules of the school state clearly that offense behaviour, be that magical, or physical, with the intent to severely harm a fellow student may be grounds for expulsion. The attempting of such actions may also be grounds for expulsion if the attempted action is severe enough. Case in point; attempted rape is one of those actions that is definite grounds for expulsion. Do you want more students to do this and end up expelled, or do you want to stop it here? To do so, all you need to do is a little sacrifice. I know that you're not keen on the idea, but your sons must be expelled for the 'Greater Good'," Harry explained. Oh, to see Dumbledore's face now as he used the old man's words for his own cause would be priceless.

The compulsion spell took effect instantly and the Board members agreed with expelling their sons as quickly as Harry expected. These fools were very weak-minded and probably got in the Board via bribery or because of their Pureblood status.

'Not so superior now, are you?' Harry thought darkly at controlling the men to agree with his words.

The Board members then took their respective sons and took the Floo Network home, much to the astonishment of Dumbledore.

"But, but?...H-how did you-?" Dumbledore asked, stuttering a little from his shock.

"Simple, Headmaster. I just know exactly what to say and what needs to be done. I believe that my work here is finished. Goodbye, Headmaster. Have a pleasant evening," Harry explained with a fake smile that hid his smirk at beating Dumbledore and those Purebloods at their own games.

Harry then led Hallie out of Dumbledore's office to take her to meet Ginny. He had a lot of apologising to do as he was extremely late, but he hoped that she would understand once he explained the situation to her.

**Author's note: Now, I've read quite a few fanfics now, and many seem to have a Harry/Multi pairing. I'm not sure whether I'd want to go down that road with this story, but I can see where I could. It won't be a Harry/Ginny/Hermione fanfic for sure, but I'm thinking of maybe Harry/Ginny/Hallie or another OC, just to be different if I do go down this road, but I'd like to see what you all think first before I decide. Please review, and thank you for reading.**


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